Make My Heart Beat
by SnowLili
Summary: AU - Gray Fullbuster and Lyon Vastia were the two well-known fellow apprentice of Ul Milkovich. They lived with respect and fame in their career. Juvia Lockser was an unknown regular one. For someone like her, she didn't expect Gray to invite her in. It was that one short encounter that changed both her life and her career. [Gruvia, Jerza, side-pairing NaLu, GaLe]
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** I can't believe this, I'm really doing this? I must have been crazy. I'm not really confident at writing Gruvia despite them being my OTP. I don't know, it's just crazy. I hope I don't mess this up. This story is a little bit hard to understand, tell me if where I should improve. Thanks.

* * *

**Chapter 1**

* * *

Gray sighed as he read the medical record spread on his table. He's really running out of time, but he still can't do it alone. That much he is very well aware of. But he can barely find good people to help him. Lyon isn't anywhere in Japan, and God knows when he'll ever come back for a visit. The only one he can think of helping him right now is Natsu, his lifetime frenemy. Still, Natsu alone is not enough. He needs someone that can function as Jura or Sherry for Lyon. Gray scrunched at the thought. Why does Lyon gets all the awesome people with him? Gray doesn't want to admit that Lyon is probably a few steps ahead of him. They were both fellow Ul's students. And even though Gray believed Ul trained them equally, he felt as if he had been constantly chasing behind Lyon. Gray ruffled his hair roughly. He shouldn't be thinking of Lyon now. It's not the time for this.

As if in cue, his office door flung open and for a second, he thought his door was going to break. He groaned in frustration. "Can't you knock like a well-mannered professional doctor, Natsu?"

Natsu laughed as he practically jumped on the chair in front of Gray's desk. Behind him, Gray saw a blonde girl wearing a blue and white tank top exposing her cleavage paired with a short tight mini skirt. Gray would feel irritated at the intrusion of the blonde if it wasn't for Natsu promptly pulling the blonde to sit beside him. Gray eyed Natsu questioningly.

"Lucy Heartfilia, my scrub nurse," Natsu said, gesturing to the girl. "I'll lend her to you."

Gray raised his eyebrows in astonishment. "Really now, Natsu? I never knew you were so generous," there was a hint of sarcasm in his tone.

Natsu snickers. "Trust me, dude. You need her."

Gray saw Lucy's lips curved into a smile. She has a long straight blonde hair tied sideways with a red ribbon adorning her fair face. She's hot, Gray gave her that. Then again, almost all nurses are all about looks. Sherry wasn't any exception. Except that Sherry is quite observant to the surgical field. Gray learnt long ago that nurses focus more on getting doctor's attention than being a useful one on field instead. And he almost couldn't believe that Natsu had stoop that low. Natsu was a very well known vascular surgeon in their hospital. Being trained directly under Igneel, their vascular professor, Natsu has honed his skills and turned into a fine vascular surgeon, famous for being the fastest in the operation field. Any nurses would fight to be by his side, even though Gray would never admit that. Then again, Gray never thought he would really pick a hottie.

Natsu, sensing almost what his frenemy was thinking, leaned forward to Gray's desk in a miffed manner. "Listen, when you asked my help in that special operation of yours, I never even think of handling Lucy to you. I'm being nice here, so don't think you are allowed to insult her."

"Sorry, but unlike you, I don't know her. My first impression isn't really good though," _Since she dressed up like a regular nurse screaming for attention_. Gray said in a low tone, hoping Lucy wouldn't hear him.

Natsu smirked. "Then you missed a very great girl."

Gray didn't know where Natsu get those confidence. But Lucy's smile didn't quite reach her eyes. That alone, Gray knew she heard the entire conversation. Who was he kidding? They were only in his office for God's sake. Even the smallest sound can be heard. He sighed, feeling bad himself. He was never good at handling woman. Ultear, Ul's daughter had always whacked him for that. Leaning back, Gray looked at Lucy.

"Pardon me but, this surgery Natsu might have been telling you is extremely difficult. And I need the best personals around. I'm not saying you're not good, but allow me to test you," Gray said in the most gentleman tone he could ever muster.

"Test me?" Lucy's head tilted a bit.

"I have a surgery scheduled this noon," Gray took a new file from the side of his desk, handing it to Lucy which she eagerly took. "It's a simple sinus venous ASD. I will observe how good of a nurse you are in this."

Lucy scanned the document carefully, reading every single details of the patient. Her mind picturing a baby's heart beating in front of her. She could almost imagine how the small heart being opened, and she started to consider all the complications. Natsu scooted closer to her, peeking at the document when Gray looked back at his frenemy.

"Well, of course you aren't joining," Gray smirked.

Natsu's face dropped. "Why not?"

"Of course not! I'm observing her, not you. And I don't want her to be all over you during the surgery," Gray laughed a bit.

"What? No! It's not like that at all!" Lucy almost stuttered at Gray's remark, flailing her hands, almost dropping the file. Natsu blushed furiously. These two... Gray rolled his eyes.

* * *

The preparation for the ASD was complete. Lucy already put aside the sterile instruments needed. She asked for some sutures of different sizes from the circulating nurse before starting to drape the sleeping baby.

"Ano," Lucy heard a girl calling. She looked down to a cute blue haired girl with her hair tied up in a bun inside the surgical cap. Lucy smiled warmly.

"I'm Wendy Marvell," she introduced herself, to which Lucy bowed a bit politely since she can't shake her hands in her sterile costume.

"I'm an intern. Please take care of me," she continued, looking down timidly.

"Gray's intern? You aren't scrubbing?" Lucy thought she would at least become an assistant.

Wendy slowly shook her head. "Not today. I'll be helping around because it is Romeo's turn to scrub in."

"Oh, pleased to meet you, Wendy. I'm Lucy, the scrub nurse for today," Lucy said. "And maybe only for today," there was a hint of uncertainty in her voice. She wasn't sure if Gray would like her to stay. But to be completely honest, she never really mind if Gray didn't like her. Right now, Gray isn't her big concern.

Before Wendy could say more, Gray walked into the operation room, and Wendy reflexively stepped back. Gray gave a sign to the anesthetist that he was going to start. Nodding at him, Gray took his position.

"We will now start the closure of sinus venosus ASD," Gray announced to the team in the room. He was about to turn to Lucy asking for scalpel when he felt something cold being placed on his palm. He stared at the scalpel in his hand. When did that... Gray turned to Lucy. She was already preparing the roller gauze and forceps, placing the forceps into his left hand.

Gray took a while to really take in the situation. Lucy looked up at him when she felt him staring. And she smiled behind her surgical mask. Gray took a deep breath. Okay, maybe she's not just a hottie. At least that gave a better impression for her.

Gray started the surgery not long after. And he finally understood what Natsu meant. Lucy had a very fast reflex. She had a very precise image of what was going on in a surgery, thus making her sure of what to prepare. Gray saved a lot of time with her, almost as if she could read his mind on what he wanted. Maybe he does need her in the operation he had been preparing for.

It was going well after they connected the heart into the cardiac-lung machine and started to repair the ASD. Gray's surgery was pretty fast with Lucy by his side, and he was just about to finish patching the hole. But things just won't let him sail safely that day. Wendy was mobilizing around the room helping out when she accidentally trip on the tubes of the cardiac-lung machine, and instantly disconnected it, making the blood spurted out of the circulation. Gray's head snapped to the direction of the cardiac-lung machine as the medical engineer desperately clamping some tubes to control the disaster, pumping back on to the baby's own heart. The machine was beeping frantically showing the baby's body temperature coming down. This is not good.

Wendy's face paled visibly, her heart raced to the point that she thought she was going to faint. The ruckus happened due to her mistake. A big one too. She stood frozen as some nurses running around trying to control the mess. The cardiac monitor started to beep, indicating there was a bradycardia and hypotension of the patient. She shivered. She saw Gray looked at her direction, and for once she felt Gray's eyes shimmered with wrath.

"Wendy!" Gray called her. "Activate the red code please! I cannot do anything from here!"

As if woken up from trance, Wendy picked up the phone hanging on the side of the wall, pushing a few digits to initiate what she was ordered to. A few seconds later, they heard a red code announcement echoing throughout the hospital. Gray glanced at the cardiac monitor, beeping rapidly as they tried to recover the heart beat. He saw the anesthetist injecting some emergency drugs, trying his best to bring back the regular beat and temperature. Gray saw the baby's heart, beating weakly as if screaming for help. At that time, Gray didn't actually pay attention to who actually came into the room answering the red code. He was at lost.

It was seconds later that the monitor beeped louder, showing a damn straight line indicating the baby's heart had stop beating. Gray's hand grabbed the small heart, slowly performing direct cardiac massaging trying to revive it. He saw a few people coming in from the corner of his eyes but he could care less. Desperately feeling the movement on the tip of his fingers, he sighed in relief when he felt the heart started to beat again.

"Gray," he heard his name being called. Looking up, he finally saw Levy sitting at the cardiac-lung machine, taking over the place of the previous medical engineer.

"Levy!" Gray's face broke into a huge smile. She must have came by the red code call during the commotion, but Gray was relieved to see her there. She's a pure genius in medical engineering field, almost any cardiac surgeon would want to have her. Too bad she already teamed up with the anesthetist Gajeel Redfox.

"Look how desperate you are," Levy laughed which made Gray groaned in annoyance. "Too bad, the ruckus is greater than expected. The blood spilled too much, it exceeds the required level to disconnect the heart from the machine."

"What?" Gray's face dropped. Which means even if he succeeds his surgery, the patient cannot be left beating by himself.

Levy chuckled. "Don't make that look. Why do you think I'm here?" It was then that Levy ordered a few fluids from the circulating nurse, which the nurse quickly abide. "I'll definitely bring your patient back, Gray. So focus on your surgery."

Gray nodded, turning back to Lucy as a sign to continue. Lucy handed him another tool needed. But before he could do anything, the monitor beeped again. His eyes widened. What the hell? The heart beat is too fast! It doesn't make sense, it just _stopped _moments ago!

Gray turned to the anesthetist who was looking around wondering what was wrong, then it hit them. The anesthetist accidentally injected way too much of Adrenaline in the commotion, causing the opposite effect than needed. Gray cursed under his breath. Wait, Levy is here, then that means...

"Levy! Where's Gajeel?" Gray asked desperately. That guy, despite being a jerk, is a very reliable anesthetist. Gray needs someone like him.

Levy was about to answer when another voice interrupted. "Gajeel-kun isn't around in the hospital right now."

Gray registered the wavy blue haired girl making her way to the patient's head. He recognized her – Juvia Lockser. She was Gajeel's friend if Gray would recall. But he doesn't know much about her.

Juvia was looking at the two huge monitors at the patient's head. "Juvia will take over. Get back," she said to the anesthetist before her hand reached the buttons on the machines then turned back to Gray. "Ten minutes."

"What?" Gray blinked in confusion.

"Juvia gives you ten minutes. Finish your surgery before that," Juvia smiled almost too sweetly.

"What the hell," Gray spat. "There's no way in hell I can do a fast surgery in this situation! Besides, a fast surgery needs one hell of a surgery team-"

"_Gray-sama_," Juvia interrupted him. Gray blinked at that. He was one of Ul's student, the famous cardiothoracic surgeon in Japan, Gray was used to him being worshipped. Heck, most of the girls are throwing themselves to him anyway. But the name she just called made him felt insulted instead. And what's with her third person speech?

"This patient had overdosed adrenaline," Juvia pointed to the heartbeat monitor. "Carbon dioxide retention," her fingers shifted to the other huge machine. "Massive blood loss that needed blood dilution," she pointed next towards Levy who was sitting by the cardiac-lung machine. "You have a death line, this is the best we could offer. By right, Juvia is supposed to stop the surgery, but Juvia has faith in your skill. Or," her voiced trailed playfully. "Is it that you cannot do it? _Gray-sama_?"

Gray's eyes twitched in annoyance. This woman is challenging him. "Who do you think you're talking to?" he mocked.

He saw Juvia smiled. "Ten minutes then. Levy, take care of the circulation. Make sure the proportion is appropriate. Timer!" Juvia ordered. Levy nodded, getting back to her own machine as the circulating nurse started the timer.

"Lucy, catch up with me," Gray was partly relieved that Natsu lent Lucy to him. Her fast reflexes would help in accelerating the surgery.

In that ten minutes, Gray noticed Lucy could be even faster if she wanted to. Gray had never seen such scrub nurse since Sherry. Now Gray knew just how Natsu gained his fame as the fastest vessel surgeon. Igneel's training is one thing, having Lucy as his X-factor is another. Natsu sure is lucky. And in that ten minutes too, Gray had experienced the proof of the so-called genius medical engineer named Levy McGarden. It was actually the first time Gray could do a surgery without worrying about the cardiac-lung machine. Levy knows exactly how to manipulate the blood concentration, when to back up and when to let the flow down. She was perfect. No wonder Gajeel wanted her.

But most of anything, Gray was infatuated with Juvia's skill. She was an unknown anesthetist. The only thing Gray knew about her was that she is Gajeel's friend. It had always confused him how a jerk like Gajeel could have a friend. Levy was probably the only one who could stand him. But this Juvia girl is another thing. She had brought the labile heartbeat to a stable one in a few minutes, washed out the toxicity inside the patient's body, and provided Gray the best cardiac vision in that impossible situation.

It was the ten minutes of his life.

It was the surgery that solved Gray's dilemma for the past few weeks.

* * *

Making his way towards the vice-professor of cardiac department, Gray entered without bothering to knock. Erza was doing some paper work Gray noticed, but he didn't care.

"Gray, don't you know how to knock?" Erza's voice almost dreadful. Oh yes, maybe he shouldn't be scolding Natsu for not knocking after all.

"I want her," Gray ignored the scolding. "Juvia Lockser. I want her."

Erza blinked. "Yes, when is the wedding?"

"What?" Gray grimaced. "No, not that! I mean, for my surgery on my pregnancy-induced cardiac myopathy. Didn't I told you that I needed the best team?"

It was then that Erza came to understand Gray's demand. "What? Are you insane? Juvia Lockser belongs to the ED department. There's no way we can have her."

"Do something!" Gray urged. "You're the leader!"

"Gray," Erza sighed. "Unless you convince her to join, I cannot take her."

"Why not?"

"The ED department vice-professor is..." Erza trailed a bit at the thought of Jellal. "Very protective of his subordinates."

Gray frowned at that, prompting her to continue.

"Jellal is picky with his staffs. Like how he picked Gajeel and Levy, he wanted the best for the ED team. Unless Juvia wanted it herself, Jellal would never hand her out. They are his treasure," Erza explained further.

Gray was left quiet for a few seconds. So, all this time Jellal had known Juvia's skill? Where did she come from? Gray was sure he never heard of Juvia's name before.

"I get it," Gray finally said. "If she is willing to, Jellal won't oppose right?"

Erza looked up at Gray.

"I'll make her come willingly."

Erza stared dumbly as she watched Gray grinning while trudging his way out. Gray had never showed any interest in any personal before. If anything, he was known as a cold hearted guy who loved taking control of every details. It was how he gained his fame. But then it is true that one of the success factor for a cardiac surgeon is the anesthetist. Cardiac surgery, unlike other fields, needed anesthetist control of the heart; when to make if slow, when to make it fast, or when and how long to make it totally stop. Erza smirked. This Juvia girl must be really something. 

* * *

**A/N:** I was trying really hard to make this story understandable. I'm sorry if it's still confusing, tell me if I need to tone down more. English isn't really my first language, and it's even harder to write in one with this kind of plot. And sorry for the long chapter. Because this one is kinda like prologue, so I had to do it this way. Please tell me if there's any mistake. Constructive criticisms are always welcomed.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** *cries* I feel so touched with all the reviews. Thank you for all of you that corrected my mistakes and all other reviews, they really motivate me to improve. I'll try to make it better! *sobs* For those who are confused with the prologue, here's the list of their departments that were introduced:

**_Cardiac Department:  
Vice Professor:_** Erza  
**_Surgeon:_** Gray  
**_Intern:_** Wendy, Romeo

**_Vascular Department:_**

**_Vice Professor: _**(will be introduced in this chapter) Laxus**_  
Surgeon:_** Natsu  
**_Scrub Nurse: _**Lucy

**_ED / Emergency Department:  
Vice Professor:_** Jellal  
**_Anesthetist:_** Juvia, Gajeel  
**_Medical Engineer:_** Levy

* * *

**Chapter 2**

* * *

"Thank you everyone, Juvia will be going home now!" Juvia bowed towards the ED teams in the emergency room politely, her right hand clutching onto her light blue purse.

"Thank you too, Dr Lockser!" some nurses answered before resuming their job.

Smiling brightly, Juvia quickly made her way out of Magnolia Hospital. She always loved the feeling when she just finished her shift. It's like patting her own shoulder for a job well done. Reaching the pavement, her steps died as well as her smile as she looked up to the dark night sky. It was raining.

Juvia always hated it when it's raining. That weather would bring a lot of bad luck in her belief. People might get into accidents on road, asthmatic patients can get their attacks, sometimes patients with implants inside their bodies might suffer the thunders. Juvia sighed. She was about to get back to her locker for her umbrella when her cellphone rang. It was Gajeel.

"Juvia, are you back yet?" Gajeel's voice was rough, but Juvia was used to it.

"Juvia is going to, but she needs to get the umbrella. It's raining," Juvia answered her friend.

She heard Gajeel growling at the end of the line. "That shorty shrimp told me there was a red code a few days ago. Was it bad?"

Juvia shook her head, even though she knew Gajeel won't see her anyway. "It was just some problem with the cardiac-lung machine in the operation room. Levy-chan was the one who saved the day."

"You all did, stop putting yourself down, woman!" Gajeel was scolding her gruffly, but Juvia couldn't help but smile. Gajeel is such a softie inside. He cares too much, if only people could see that in him.

"How was the anesthetist conference at Crocus, Gajeel-kun?" Juvia asked.

"It was boring as always. Metallicana made me behave like a shitty doctor, I swear he burned his butt here. He's preaching to me about a damn suit like I'm an intern! I'm going to kick his ass after all this over," Gajeel complained and Juvia giggled. She knew Gajeel won't though. Her feet moved to her locker as her other hand unlocking it.

"Oh, that remind me, they are going to have a Live Performance centered in Magnolia Hospital."

"Live Performance?" Juvia paused.

"Yeah, a live broadcast of a surgery. You're interested?"

"No," Juvia shook her head. "Juvia might not get chosen into one anyway. She's not that good."

Gajeel groaned. "Listen, woman. You are going to talk to Jellal about it and I'm not hearing all those girly 'I'm not good' thing from you about this, got it?"

Juvia blinked then smiled again. "Who will be the surgeon?"

"It hasn't been decided, but I heard they're calling Ul back to Magnolia for this. Ultear told Jellal it was just a rumor though."

Juvia stood a while, contemplating. Will she assist Ul Milkovich in a surgery if she was chosen? It was like a chance in a lifetime. She never met Ul, but Juvia had heard a lot of rumors about Ul's reputation. She was the best in the cardiothoracic department, it was said that her surgery success rate was up to 90%. Is Juvia good enough for her? She clutched her phone tighter. Juvia is a nobody. She wasn't trained under great tutors like Gajeel, and she isn't a born genius like Levy too.

"Oh shit! Metallicana is calling me. Must be about that useless dinner tonight. I'll see you in a week, woman." and the line ended before she could answer.

Taking her pink umbrella, Juvia pivoted her heels, ready to leave when she saw a man standing a few feet in front of her. _Gray Fullbuster_. What is he doing here?

"Did you just finish your shift?" Gray asked.

Juvia blinked. Slowly she looked back, trying to see if Gray was talking to someone else behind her or something. But there was no one there except them. Juvia turned back to Gray, pointing to herself. "Juvia?"

Gray frowned. "Do I look like I'm talking to someone else?"

Juvia blushed. She couldn't believe it. Gray was talking to her. Gray Fullbuster – Ul's student – was _talking_ to her. Can she brag about this tomorrow? Will the girls get jealous? This must be a dream!

"So? Are you going back?" Gray asked again when he noticed Juvia wasn't answering his question.

"Yes!" her answer came more like a shriek.

Gray was taken aback by her eager answer but he brushed it away. "Can I walk you home? I won't take your time, I just want to talk with you about something."

Juvia's blush deepened. Is he going to confess? It's almost like the romantic shojo manga she always read. She cupped her own cheeks dreamily as she nodded.

"Great. Wait for me at the pavement, I'll go get my car," Gray said, hesitantly walking away. This girl is weird.

* * *

The ride was silent for the first few minutes, with Juvia squealing quietly inside and blushing. She was inside a car with the hottest doctor in Magnolia Hospital, oh so many fantasies. Will this end up with a hot night like all the romantic movies?

"So, Juvia," Gray broke the silence, oblivious with the blunette's innuendos.

"Yes, Gray-sama!"

"What's with the '-sama'?" he sweatdropped.

She giggled happily, staring at Gray who was concentrating on the rainy road. Oh, he's so handsome. His raven colored hair framing his manly face. This is the first time Juvia get to admire his face closely. The red code incident the past few days was actually her first time being that close with him, but at that time he was wearing a surgical mask that covered his face.

"Say, how long have you been working at Magnolia Hospital?" Gray started.

"Almost a year!" Juvia answered cheerfully.

"A year?" Gray didn't notice. Did they really had such an anesthetist for a year already? "And you've been working with ED since then?"

"Yes! Jellal-san was really nice since he took Juvia in!" She nodded, before blinking as she flailed her hands. "But it's not that Juvia likes him romantically. He's just a great superior!"

Gray nodded slowly, eyes still fixed on the road. "Are you interested with Cardiac department?"

Juvia was an emotional mess at that time. She cupped her face as she turned to the other side so Gray wouldn't see her blushing face as she mumbled an inaudible "Juvia is interested with Gray-sama!"

"Huh? What did you say?" Gray peeked at her, couldn't really get what she just said.

"Nothing!" she squeaked.

Gray frowned a bit, scratching the back of his head. "I was just wondering if you would have one patient of mine. She had a very difficult disease and her demand is a bit hard to fulfill. If you're interested, I can get you the file for more detail information."

Juvia blinked. Wait, what? A patient? With a difficult disease?

Gray waited for her to answer. When he was sure she won't, he added. "I wanted to do a surgery on her, but I can't do it alone. So I thought of asking your help."

"Juvia's help?" she asked back. Why would Gray Fullbuster need a help from someone like her?

"Yes," Gray nodded.

Juvia stared at Gray. Her blush disappeared and what was left on her face was inscrutable.

"So? What do you say?" Gray asked again.

Juvia took a deep breath, straightening herself up as she folded her arms on her chest. "That was why Gray-sama asked to walk Juvia home?"

"Yes," Gray answered, stealing a look at her.

There was a long silence from her. Oh yes, Juvia thought. Of course he wasn't confessing. That was only going to be in her dreams. But that wasn't what troubled her. Did Gray Fullbuster, the respected Ul Milkovich student, was dumping a patient to her? Juvia couldn't believe it. Gray was just the same like all the other doctors she knew. He was not any different from them.

"Juvia?" Gray asked again.

"Fine, Juvia can take the patient if Gray-sama go out on a date with Juvia," she said. The playful tone was back in her voice.

Gray blinked. "What?"

"No?" Juvia giggled. "Too bad then. Juvia's not taking over."

Gray was flabbergasted. Did she just exchanged a patient's life with a freaking date?

"Well, Juvia's house is right at that corner, Gray-sama can stop here," she informed.

Pulling his car into a halt, Gray grabbed her arm before she could leave. "Wait a minute, are you serious?"

"Of course Juvia is serious!" she pouted a bit.

Gray stared into her cerulean eyes, even though he wasn't sure what to seek in them. "A date?" he asked again, as if he couldn't believe his ears.

"Yes, but Gray-sama doesn't agree, so there isn't anything to trade," she was about to wriggle away from Gray's grip when he tugged her back.

"Fine. Fine!" his voice sounded miffed. "Just a date right? Just a date then the deal is on?"

That caught Juvia unguarded. She stared into Gray's dark blue eyes. Why is he so desperate? Is the patient _that_ hopeless? "Y-Yes. A very satisfying date," her uncertainty did not go unnoticed by Gray.

"_Fine_!" he almost hissed. "I'd do anything, as long as you agree-"

"Juvia wants a grand romantic dinner."

"Fine!"

"A romantic walk in a beautiful garden."

"Fine!"

"Juvia wants you to pick her from house with a white horse."

"Fi- _What_?" Gray blinked in utter surprise.

"See! Gray-sama cannot do it!" she giggled.

He groaned. "Fine, I'll ride the freaking horse, I'll just rent one from the stable. So are we on?"

Juvia frowned. She didn't like how Gray looked so desperate in this. This patient must be really at the end of her life for him to offer her this much. All her respect towards him flew out of the window at that moment, but no matter how much she hated it, her heart fluttered crazily. It is Gray Fullbuster, who would deny a date from him?

"Juvia will think about it," and she quickly got out of the car, opening her umbrella and rushed into her house.

To say that Gray was shocked was an understatement. He could never understand this woman. First, she traded a patient's life with a date, then when he agreed, she said she was going to _think_ about it? What the hell is going on in that head of hers?

* * *

"No!"

"But, but," Juvia cried. "It's the Fullbuster. It's almost like a dream to date him!"

"God, Juvia, stop crying!" Gajeel scolded. "You woke me up in the middle of the night just to cry? I have a freaking conference early in the morning tomorrow and you're _not_ going on a date with him! Have you not learn anything with what happened between you and Bora?"

Juvia sobbed quietly, holding her phone tightly to her ear. She knew. She _knew_ about that. That was why she was a bit reluctant. When she offered the date, Juvia thought Gray would refuse. She heard about Gray being a cold-hearted guy, despite having so many girls kissing the floor he walked on. She _really_ didn't expect him to agree. But she found her own offer too good to reject.

"Juvia," Gajeel groaned when he noticed Juvia had been quiet for some time. "You. Are. Not. Going. On. A. Date! Not with a guy like him! He's going to take advantage of you!"

"Okay," she sniffed.

"Good. You are going to work like usual tomorrow, and if he ever come to you again, just shoot him down. Now let me sleep!"

Juvia suppressed a giggle. She couldn't help but to think that Gajeel was so sweet to entertain her call even though it was already late at night, and he had a conference tomorrow morning to top it all. Bidding him goodbye, Juvia slipped under her blanket, hugging her fluffy pillow as she smiled happily. Gajeel was right. There is no reason for her to risk her career for a stupid date. Besides, Ul had two students. Maybe she can find a way to get close with Lyon instead. Maybe Lyon is kinder than Gray? Who knows?

* * *

When Juvia saw Gray at the café the next day, she almost left her meal to run away, but Gray was faster than she expected. She was grabbed back to her seat with Gray in front of her.

"Juvia is not going!" she shrieked at him.

Gray blinked. "Not going where?"

"The date!" she said desperately. "She's not going!"

"Okay," Gray nodded, partly relieved that he won't have to ride a freakin' horse in the middle of a city. "What about the patient? Are you really not going to take her?"

"Of course not!" she frowned. "Who do you think Juvia is?"

Gray sighed, running his hand in his hair. "Look, Juvia. I'm really running out of time here. Just tell me your demands, and I'll give you anything. Just help me out with this!"

"No!" she screamed, a little bit too loud that attracted the people in the café, leaving Gray speechless as she quickly stood and left the place. After a while, Gray bowed a bit at the people in the café, grinning stupidly. Seriously, the thing this woman put him through.

* * *

Jellal was typing something in his computer when he heard a knock on his office door. Granting the permission, the door squeaked open. It was until the figure stopped in front of his desk that Jellal finally tore his eyes from his computer screen, registering Erza's subordinate; Gray Fullbuster.

"Yes? In what matter do I owe you a visit today, Fullbuster?" Jellal faced the guy, leaving his work for a while.

Gray sat on the chair without being invited, weaving his fingers together. "I have something to talk about."

"I'm all ears," Jellal raised his eyebrows questioningly.

"It's about Juvia Lockser," Gray started.

"Yes?"

"I wish to take her in to cardiac department."

Jellal blinked. "Are you asking my permission?"

"Partly yes," Gray shrugged. "And another part is just because I wanted to tell you that I _will_ take her."

Jellal stared at the young guy intently. "Then, do I hold the right to answer 'no' for the permission?"

"I know you won't let me. Erza told me that," Gray smirked.

"Then we're done."

"But that's not what I'm asking your permission for," Gray said before being dismissed. "I'm hereby asking your permission to do part time at the emergency department."

"What?" Jellal's eyes widened slightly.

"For some unknown reason, it's kinda hard for me to get to that crazy girl, but I'm not giving up, and I'm running out of time here, so working at your department might give me better chances to get to her." Gray explained before looking back at Jellal. "I wonder what might interest her. How much do you pay her, Jellal?" Gray knew ED department had more fund than any other departments in the hospital. It explained why Jellal could hire all the good personals and increased the success rate of his department. Juvia might be paid with a huge amount of money too.

Jellal stared at Gray before leaning back on his seat. "Let's just say I offered her a fortune, but she cut it into half. And that's all I'm telling you."

Gray groaned in annoyance. "You're not going to make this easy for me, aren't you?"

"Of course not," Jellal answered with a smirk. "Do you have any idea how hard it was for me to get her here?"

"Thanks for the heads up. At least I know where I'm going," Gray chuckles before excusing himself.

Just as Gray walked out of the door, Laxus came into view, staring at Gray's retreating back questioningly. "What was Fullbuster doing here?"

Jellal shrugged. "He asked for a part time in my department."

Laxus raised his eyebrows. "Never knew he had interest in ED."

Jellal decided to skip the topic. "Why are you here, Laxus?"

"Oh yeah," Laxus pulled out a chair as he sat down. "About the professor election, my grandfather said it will be held soon in a few months."

Jellal looked up to the vice professor of vascular department. "Really? Are you participating?"

Laxus laughed. "As much as I want to become a professor, I'm having a troublesome research right now so I might have to wait a little longer. I'm just telling you this because the favorite candidates for this year's election are you and Erza. You might want to put up one hell of a fight with her."

Jellal frowned a bit at the mention of Erza. Oh yeah, they will be competing in that election. What was Erza's research topic again?

"Thanks for informing," Jellal nodded. "I'd see what I can do. Are you by any chance, rooting for Erza?"

"Don't be silly, Jellal. I have no reason to give my vote to her. But just so you know, there's a new reformation in the coming election. Of course, I'll be telling Erza the same thing," Laxus grinned. "It wouldn't be fun to watch if you have more information than her, would it?"

* * *

**A/N:** This chapter is lighter than before as it doesn't have much medical scene involvement. But the pace of the story will go on like this. There will be some surgeries because that's their job, but their lives aren't only revolving around that. To answer your questions, yes, I am working in a team like them; they are my precious nakama. But I'm not a surgeon. I'm probably like Lucy or Levy? I'll leave it at that. Hehe. And ED=emergency department. Some call it ER, but I prefer ED as it is broader than ER itself. Oh, don't worry, I'm a HUGE fan of Jerza myself, they're also my very close second favorite pairing in Fairy Tail. I might won't be able to hold myself from giving them the happiness they deserve. 3 And Wendy will be an interesting character to look up to. I'm still nervous about this but I want to thank everyone who reviewed; **xgasai-yunox, The Golden Witch, SeptemberGurl, TheLittleKittyMeows, NeverInUrWildestDreams** and the **unnamed Guests**. Thank you so much for your help!


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** Okay, please ignore all the medical details. I just put it there to make it sounds real. The point of the scene is, Gray had assisted Juvia perfectly, and Juvia did a very good job _again_, and Gray had trusted Juvia completely. Yup, that was the message. LOL

* * *

**Chapter 3**

* * *

The ED bell rang twice, indicating a patient being transferred to the Red Zone. Stretcher being pulled out from an ambulance, revealing a patient bathed with blood, a splint secured over his right leg. Paramedics rushed out, pushing the stretcher in and transferred the patient on the Red Zone bed as they started to attach all the wires to the body.

"Patient 32 years old gentleman, no known medical illness, alleged motor vehicle accidents sustained open fractures. Estimated blood loss was 1.2L, patient suspected to be in hypovolemic shock," the paramedic reported as they worked.

Juvia attended the patient fast, ignoring Gray that was tailing behind. She didn't understand why he was working in ED, but Gajeel told her to ignore him, so she decided she will.

"Pulses are faint, is the blood pressure recordable?" Gray asked as he started to listen to the heartbeat with his stethoscope.

"It's still recordable but very low," Juvia said, taking the patient's arm. "Juvia will get a large bore branule, prepare the fluids."

While setting the line, some paramedics already went to get the things they wanted. Gray was holding the mask for the patient, bagging it for ventilation. It took him great strength, as he noticed the man was quite huge in size. There was a loud snore coming from the patient, and Gray tilted the head.

"The ventilation is not established. Prepare for intubation!" Gray ordered, hands still bagging.

Some nurses brought a trolley towards them, preparing the instruments needed for intubation. Gray was about to fetch the drugs when dainty hands snatched it right before he could.

Juvia hold the drugs while looking into Gray's eyes, one hand resting on her hips. "Juvia will do it."

Gray gazed back for a while. "Okay." It was no use fighting over a patient. Gray wasn't stupid enough for that.

"Juvia's rapid sequence intubation is fast," Juvia said while taking over Gray's place, quickly injecting the drugs one by one according to the sequence.

Just after the final drug injected, Gray's fingers pressing firmly onto the patient's neck. Juvia glanced up at Gray for a while, pursing her lips cutely before reaching for the intubating tools.

"Sellick maneuver appropriate," Juvia said lowly, partly didn't want to admit Gray's fast assistance. "Commencing intubation," she carefully put in the tube into the lungs then connected it to the machine.

"Ventilator setting done," Gray informed, tapping a few buttons before pressing the confirmation button.

"Prepare for blood transfusion and call for mobile x-ray. We might need some traction for the fractures later," Juvia ordered.

After stabilizing the patient, Juvia sat at the computer, typing in the patient's note as Gray sat beside her.

"How long will Gray-sama be working here?" Juvia asked without turning to him.

"That depends on you," Gray shrugged before praising. "That was a very fast intubation, by the way."

Juvia pouted a bit. "Gray-sama caught up pretty fast too." She was actually hoping he couldn't. She didn't want to admit it, but if it wasn't for Gray's accurate assistance she wouldn't be able to successfully intubate the patient in first try. That patient was quite overweight, and his tongue was quite big, which explains why he was snoring prior to intubation. It would be difficult for Juvia to do it alone.

"Because you told me before hand that your rapid sequence intubation is fast, so yeah," Gray chuckled a bit.

Juvia stopped typing, turning to the surgeon. "Gray-sama _believed_ that?"

"Why not?"

Juvia stared at him. She felt the walls she built slowly almost crumble, but she picked herself back quickly.

Gray had to grin at her precious expression. She was cute if he looked closer. And damn, working in ED made him realize that the moment he saw her in the operation room was just the tip of an iceberg. Juvia was damn _precise_ in her work. The intubation just now was a proof – she knows very well how to manipulate the time. She really is the anesthetist he had been searching for.

What Gray couldn't put his hands on was what bothering her. The way Juvia worked in ED didn't even make her look like the type of doctor who took a patient for granted. In fact, she actually portrayed a doctor who is really enthusiast at saving one's life. Then why didn't she accept his offer? If money wasn't the problem, then what is?

"Juvia, wanna get a bite? It's lunch time," Gray offered.

Juvia squinted at him suspiciously, as if he was going to trick her into a trap.

"It's lunch time," Gray repeated his point, holding his hands up in surrender. "I'm not going to poison you or anything."

"Juvia is not hungry!"

Gray felt annoyed. Oh, she's playing hard to get. Gray really didn't have time for this. "Fine! See if I care," stomping out of the door, Gray grumbled at her stubbornness. Really that girl.

* * *

"Erza, about the thing I asked you to-" Gray stopped in his track when he saw Jellal sitting opposite to Erza in her office couch. He walked in carefully, his hand closed back the door behind him. "Am I disturbing something?"

"Can't you fucking knock, Gray?" Erza almost yelled, but restrained knowing Jellal was there.

"We were just preparing the department's annual report, Fullbuster. And we just finished. You're not disturbing anything at all," Jellal said, gesturing Gray to sit with them. "By the way, how was your work at ED?"

"It was okay," Gray obeyed him as he sat down with them.

"Did you get what you wanted?"

Gray groaned at that, and he heard Jellal chuckled.

"If you like her that much, how about joining ED? I could use your talent," Jellal offered. Gray had increased their success rate mostly in cardiac cases in ED since he worked there. And Jellal would always do anything to raise his department's reputation. It would help at getting him become a professor.

"What the hell, Jellal? No! I won't allow you to take him away from me!" Erza quickly interrupted, voice came out louder than she intended. Gray was her trump card. Without Gray, she might not be able to retain her department's achievement.

"Well, if he's interested, it's not wise to keep him with you, Scarlet," Jellal said, a faint hint of teasing in his voice.

"What?" Erza fumed.

"Sorry, but despite it being a very interesting department, I'm still more interested in cardiac surgery," Gray quickly interrupted before he could witness a murder inside a hospital. "Besides, like I said, I _will_ take Juvia here."

Jellal rose an eyebrow, even though physically he didn't look threatened. "I think I'll just get back to my office. Oh, and Erza, remember the meeting with Professor Makarov tomorrow. I'll be taking my leave then," he bowed a bit to the two before walking out.

Erza sighed just after Jellal was out of sight. She wouldn't lie how she felt for Jellal. They had been together since internship, up until they climbed the ladder of their career at this moment. If it wasn't for Jellal, Erza might not even be a vice professor now. He had assisted her so many times when they were younger, covering all her mistakes and helping her to improve. Jellal was an outstanding doctor since he was an intern. He had a vast knowledge and skillful hands that would be envied by any surgeon. Erza thought he would definitely become a surgeon himself.

But Jellal is a man full with surprises. When Erza was accepted as a cardiac surgeon, he told her that he had pursued emergency medicine. She had questioned him at that time, why emergency? It was a question left unanswered up until now. But even with different path, Jellal had indirectly motivated her. She wanted to always be with him, to always fight him fairly at anything. She had fought to sit where she is now – all because of him. And yet Jellal had not even acknowledge her feeling. Erza felt devastated at that.

"Is there something wrong?" Gray asked, out of concern when he heard Erza's heavy sigh.

"No, it's nothing," Erza quickly straightened herself as she faced Gray. "Why are you here?"

Gray stared at Erza for a while before shrugging it off. "Did you get to investigate about Juvia?"

Erza sat quiet for a while before she remembered something. "Oh yes! Gray, about Juvia-" she quickly stood and scrambled a few papers on her desk then returned back to Gray. "There is something... _Disturbing_... About her," she said reluctantly.

Gray looked at her questioningly, then took the papers Erza handed to him, reading quietly.

"You see, apparently, she wasn't a bright doctor," Erza began. "She used to work at Phantom Hospital before for quite a few years since she was an intern. And apparently, she had done quite a lot of medical errors that resulted in patient's death. It was a large toll too."

Gray flipped the papers as he read. "Really? From what I observed her, this was hardly the case."

"I'm really not sure, but these are the things in her record book," Erza sighed, confused with the data herself. "But with this record, it seems like it contradicts a lot of things. Why would Jellal hire such a doctor in his department after all?"

"Is there any other relevant information that could help me out?" Gray asked.

Erza thought for a few seconds before nodding. "There is another thing that disturbed me," she admitted. "It seems that during that time, Juvia had never handle a patient from the beginning."

Gray frowned. "What do you mean?"

"According to her record, apparently she had been taking over other doctor's patients. Then subsequently treating them that leads into serious medical errors. I don't understand why she would want to take over someone else's patients instead of treating her own," Erza explained. "There are a lot of doctors she had taken the patient over from, but there is one doctor that she had frequently came to contact with."

"And who is that?" Gray asked, starting to get interested.

"The name is Bora."

* * *

Looking down to the address written on the tiny paper, Gray made his way to the waiting area in Titan Nose Hospital where he was steered by the girl at the reception counter. It took him almost five minutes when the spiky haired man with long fringe came into view.

"Were you the one asking to meet me?" Bora said in a superior tone. A sense of pride washed upon him when he heard someone had requested to meet him.

"Bora?" Gray asked, more in a gentleman tone.

"_Doctor_ Bora if I may say," he corrected Gray proudly. "I'm busy with my patients but if you requested for me, then it can't be helped. Let me help you out!"

Gray's eyes narrowed. This guy doesn't sound nice. "I'm _Doctor_ Fullbuster, Magnolia Hospital Cardiac Surgeon," Gray decided to introduce himself in the same boasting tone.

Bora was taken aback at that. A surgeon? Why would a surgeon looking for him? "Ah, are you here to scout me? I'm so happy then, I do hold interest in surgery-"

"No, I'm actually here to ask you about something," Gray decided to cut the story short. He didn't hold a liking towards this guy anyway.

"About what?" Bora asked, starting to get a bit annoyed.

"Do you happen to know about a doctor named Juvia Lockser?" Gray asked.

"Juvia?" Bora frowned at the name. "Of course I know. She's my ex-girlfriend."

"Your ex?" Gray didn't expect that. "Oh sorry about that."

"Nah, she's a boring gloomy girl anyway," Bora waved his hand dismissively.

Gray squinted. Okay, he did _not_ just talk ill about his ex to a stranger.

"I never liked her too much actually. She's too stupid."

_Stupid_?

"And I only used her as my dumping site for all the dying patients. You know, she's too stupid and she would do anything for me, so I just use her to dump my hopeless patients to her. You know, we need to keep our records clean to climb up our career. You're a surgeon, you should know that, right. And thanks to her, my record had been very clean for now," Bora babbled, oblivious to the deep frown forming on Gray's face.

_Wait, what_?

It was then that Juvia's weird behavior replayed in his mind.

_Juvia's help?_

_That was why Gray-sama asked to walk Juvia home?_

_Juvia will think about it._

_Who do you think Juvia is?_

_Gray-sama believed that?_

_Gray-sama believed that?_

Gray-sama believed that?

Gray leaned back slightly as realization hit upon him. I see. He chuckled. So that's what it was. Seriously, Juvia, did you really think that low of me?

Bora was still mumbling about how stupid Juvia was to accept all of his dying patients years ago when her saw Gray chuckled. He stopped, grinning as he thought Gray found his story funny.

"She is so stupid right? A boring girl like her is so easy to play with after all-"

Bora didn't get a chance to register what happen when a powerful punch hit his face, sending him flying to the wall. He cringed in pain, feeling the blood flowing down his nose. Rubbing his nose, he shrieked terrifyingly, catching the attention of the people around them.

"Thank for the _information_," Gray cracked his knuckles. "It _really_ saved my time," with that, he left Bora alone, grieving over his bleeding nose.

Entering his car, Gray sighed heavily. He was frustrated that it didn't occur to him earlier about this. She was an unknown anesthetist, because she wasn't scouted by any professors as tutors. She reached where she is right now by a totally different way from Gray. She grew from her experience of desperately clinging onto the lives of the dying patients shoved to her. She had learned the hard way. She never _had_ a nakama.

Igniting the engine, Gray drove towards Magnolia Hospital. Alright. He's going to make things clear with her.

* * *

**A/N:** I wanted to ask for readers suggestion. I am going to need three patients names that will have a detail encounter with our Gruvia team. I've been in dilemma, should I use any characters in Fairy Tail or just create some OCs? Their first patient, since she's pregnant, I was thinking about using Bisca, but I'm not sure if it's a good idea or not. There will be one out of the three patients that will be a antagonist, and becoz I don't like turning characters who are canonically nice into an antagonist, I was thinking of using Angel, but what do you guys think? Should I, or should I just create OCs?

Oh, and thank you once again to those who reviewed; **xgasai-yunox, SeptemberGurl, superduperizee, The Golden Witch, TheLittleKittyMeows, YukiOnnaMonet, LilTimy** and **elle003**. I was really nervous and unsure when I was starting this fic, but all your review make me feel a bit more comfortable. Thank you so much for your support! :D

You might think this story is a bit fast paced but trust me, if I don't make it fast then this will be a very damn long story.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:** Yes, Phantom Hospital sounds like a very weird hospital name, LOL. But it's going to appear only once so I don't wanna waste my time thinking too much about it. Haha. And yeah, I agree that the scene with Bora is a bit too fast but I do wanna make it fast becoz to be honest, I'm trying to finish this story in 10 chapters tops. I do admit though, that I did think of more scenes between Gray and Juvia before he meets Bora but I was a bit scared it would drag too long so I cut them out. Part of it is becoz I'm still a bit nervous LOL. Gruvia is a whole new territory for me, I've never do anything pertaining to them so basically this fic is the first fic/art/anything from me. (I've been in different fandom before this) But if you guys prefer a slower paced one, I'll try my best to cater. That is, if I can calm myself down. ^^;;

* * *

**Chapter 4**

* * *

Adjusting his maroon tie, Jellal carefully knocked the meeting room door. He stepped in after hearing someone from the inside calling him in. It seemed like he was probably the last to arrive, thanks to a few issues happened at the emergency room. He bowed at the professors seated at one side before making his way and sat besides Laxus.

"Sorry, I'm late. There is a baby with bronchospasm in ED just now," Jellal apologized.

Makarov nodded, even though Jellal could barely see as his head was just visible enough above the table – he's a dwarf sized old man alright. Jellal caught a glance of Erza sitting opposite of him as he gave her a small smile.

Makarov cleared his throat, gaining back all the attentions to him. "So, now that everyone is here, let's start," he began. "Before that, I'd like to inform that the date for the next professor election had been decided."

There was the sound of whispers among the vice professors in the room, talking about the event they had been waiting for. Jellal sat there without reaction. He already knew anyway. He stole another glance at Erza to see the same lack of reaction as him. Laxus must have told her too.

"This year's election will be a little bit different than before. We, the Magnolia Hospital professors, will not be the one nominating any of you," Makarov continued.

There was another noise made by the vice professors. "What do you mean you won't? Who will be nominating us then?"

"There is a new reformation in this year's election," Makarov tried to explain. "The one who will nominate you guys will be the professors from the other hospitals."

"What?" the voices became a bit louder. "But the other hospitals don't have any idea about our performances, how would they know who to nominate among us?"

"They will know," Makarov reassured them. "We will be holding a Live Performance here."

The meeting room still filled with hush whispers at the sudden change the professors had been announcing. Makarov opened the slides on the screen to explain further.

"This Live Performance will be held in Crocus General Hospital Conference Hall. We will all gather there. It will be the place where the foreign professors will read and observe your performances. This is done to avoid bias nomination from us," Makarov said.

"But what about the Live Performance itself?"

"The Live Performance will be done here though. It will be broadcasted to Crocus of course."

"Who will be performing the surgery?" there were audible whispers saying it should be someone from their department and some even mentioned the rumors of Ul coming back for it.

Makarov chuckled as he shook his head. "No, Ul won't be back. The surgeon will be from our hospital," he flipped the slide show, revealing the patient's detail. "The patient is a 42 years old gentleman, with underlying dyslipidemia, diagnosed with ascending aortic arc aneurysm and annuloaortic ectasia. He came in with symptoms of heart failure, investigation showed he already developed severe aortic regurgitation. We need to replace the aortic valve as well as the aneurysm repair."

"Wait a minute, it is a high level surgery. We cannot think of anyone other than Dr Milkovich who can do that!"

Makarov hummed thoughtfully. "I thought so too, but I already contacted Ul about it. She won't be able to make it. But she did mention a name who can do it."

There was a moment of silence in the room as they waited for Makarov to announce the name.

"It's Gray Fullbuster."

Erza's head snapped up.

"Wait, that's not fair," there were complaints. "That would give advantage to Dr Scarlet in the election. Besides, Fullbuster is Dr Milkovich's student, it's just not right."

"Exactly," Makarov nodded. "It's because he's her student, that's why I believe he could do it. And don't get the concept wrong. There are professors attending the Live Performance, their assessment will be objective. And the ones who are taking part in the surgery are not solely from cardiac department."

"We will be selecting personals from other departments," Yajima continued the explanation. Attentions shifted to the professor. "The anesthetist will be from your department, Jellal. We have selected Metallicana's student Dr Redfox for this. Scrub nurse will be from the neurosurgical department-"

"I'm sorry, Professor Yajima, don't I have anything to say in this?" Jellal interrupted. The room immediately quieted at Jellal's raised hand.

"Are you objecting this?" Yajima questioned.

"With all due respect," Jellal bowed a bit. "I do admit that Gajeel is a very outstanding anesthetist. But it doesn't have to be him in this surgery. Would you mind if I talk to them and pick a name myself?" Jellal wasn't being picky. But he knew Gajeel dislikes flashy things such as the Live Performance. Sure, he had the authority to push Gajeel to it. But medicine is a field requiring teamwork. And he didn't plan to betray the trust of his comrades.

"Jellal, this Live Performance is really important-"

"I am very aware of that, Professor Yajima. But trust me, my other anesthetists aren't any worse than Dr Redfox," Jellal insisted.

* * *

"Forceps," Gray requested, holding out his left hand. The nurse searched for the requested item and quickly handed it to Gray.

"Thank you," he took it as he continued suturing the patient's wound. "Please prepare suture scissor too."

"Yes, doctor," the nurse quickly scrambled to the sterile instrument in the emergency room.

"Sorry, I'll be doing a continuous suturing for you," Gray said to the patient.

The patient chuckled. "I don't even know what's the difference, doctor."

Gray smiled, leaning back a bit to study his patient's face. "It won't look like the usual suturing people always watch in movies. The thread will be embedded in your skin with only the two ends of the thread seen at the end of the wound."

The patient nodded understandingly. "You could do that?"

"It's my everyday practice," Gray flashes his best smile. "Well, not in emergency here of course. Don't worry, your wound permits this style of suturing," Gray resumed his work. "Tell me if the pain killer wears off, alright."

It didn't took too long for Gray to finish – his hands are fast okay. It was just right before he finish that the nurse came back with the scissor. Gray took it as he cut off the thread, and the thread was pulled back and disappeared into the skin, leaving the wound closing tightly like it was never there. The nurse watched in awe. Of course, she had heard of Gray, but as the ED nurse, it was her first time watching Gray's hands work. It was entrancing. And it wasn't even a surgery, it was just suturing a wound that a patient accidentally cut his arm with a knife.

After thanking Gray, the patient went to the counter to pay the bills. Gray discarded the used items into the sterilization box.

"You are so good, Dr Fullbuster," the nurse found herself saying before she could stop herself.

Gray turned to the nurse, smiling a bit. "Oh, it's nothing. It's just a small wound. Next time when a doctor is working, make sure to prepare all the necessary things alright?"

"Yes!" the nurse chirped. "I'll do anything for you!"

Gray chuckled, shaking his head. Washing his hands, his eyes locked on a certain blue haired girl that was talking pointlessly with a little girl. Gray noticed how Juvia's hands working to manually reduce the girl's foot while her lips busy creating conversations. He smiled.

"You like kids?" Gray greeted her after she finished attending the girl. Juvia jumped a bit at his sudden approach.

"Gray-sama, you startled Juvia," she heaved a sigh, resting a hand on her chest to calm her heart down.

"Sorry, I didn't mean it," Gray smiled sheepishly.

Juvia shook her head as she went to sit on a small stool. Her blue dress falling to the side of her legs as she reached for a file at a corner. Gray carefully pulled a stool and sat beside her, peeking into the file from her shoulder.

"Is there something wrong?" Juvia asked, a cute frown appeared on her face and she turned to face Gray.

"Nothing," Gray quickly shook his head. "I just wanted to talk to you after you're done with your work."

"What about?"

"About the pregnancy-induced cardiac myopathy-"

"Juvia already gave Gray-sama her answer," Juvia cut him off.

"Yes, but I still want you to reconsider. There is no one but you-"

"There is nothing to be reconsidered!" Juvia's frown deepened.

"No, wait, Juvia. I've been thinking why you really opposed this idea and I came to your career record and then I was thinking; were you bullied?" Gray said quickly so as not to be interrupted again.

Juvia's jaw dropped. "Gray-sama _read_ Juvia's record?"

Gray blinked. _Shit_! That came out worse than he expected. He really isn't good at words. One of the thing that made him and Lyon different, he must say.

He saw Juvia's eyes watering. "Fine, do whatever Gray-sama wants but Juvia isn't going to be tricked again!" she pushed him away from her, rushing out of the emergency room.

Gray had to balance himself, getting off the stool before he fell. This woman is very hormonal. Gray groaned. He quickly chased after her.

"Juvia, wait. I didn't mean that in an insulting way!" Gray tried to explain.

"Gray-sama is so mean!"

Oh _crap_. She's already crying. Gray glanced around, noticing how the people staring at them. Okay, she did _not_ put him into this mess. Grabbing firmly onto Juvia's arm, Gray dragged her away to a more secluded area in panic – he recognized it being the sterilization area.

"Damn it, stop crying!" Gray urged.

Juvia sobbed, lips quivering with a frown, staring into Gray's dark blue orbs. Gray shifted uncomfortably. He really didn't know how to handle girls.

"I'm sorry, okay," he said softly, in attempt to stop her tears. He felt Juvia relaxed in his grasp. Fishing his handkerchief inside his pocket, he handed it to her. "Here, stop crying."

Juvia stared at the dark blue handkerchief before hesitantly took it and wiped her tears. Gray let go of her arm, standing awkwardly waiting for her to calm down.

"Are you okay now?" he asked after she calmed a bit.

Juvia nodded, eyes red and puffy. "But that doesn't mean Gray-sama could use Juvia to get away with a cardiac myopathy patient. Juvia is not the same anymore!" her voice was somewhat restrained and unsure.

"Juvia, I didn't invite you to push the blame of a patient's death on you," Gray groaned. "I invite you to save her. That patient is going to live, Juvia. We both will make it happen."

Juvia narrowed her eyes, glaring at Gray as if trying to show that she was mad. "Yeah, like Gray-sama plan to open the chest, cut anything Gray-sama can reach then close it and blame Juvia after if anything happens. Gray-sama can never cut the right part."

"I can't but we can," Gray reasoned. That threw Juvia in silence, looking back into Gray's eyes.

"I know we can, Juvia," Gray continued when Juvia didn't answer. "That day when I call for the red code, I know we can."

"It was a red code, and Juvia was free so she came to help," Juvia didn't get it.

"I know," Gray agreed. "But even if it was a red code, not all anesthetist would jump in and take over."

Juvia's lips slightly parted. She wanted to reason some more, but she still didn't get Gray's point herself.

"That patient was a baby, with a heart disease on top of that. It requires great calculation on the drug doses and the concentration in the blood as to not burden the heart. He wasn't an easy patient who you can just shove away the appointed anesthetist and take over," Gray explained. "But you did."

Juvia still stood there, not moving as Gray's words registered in her mind.

"You did because you were confident with your calculations," Gray summarized. "At that moment, I know we can do it. You're not an ordinary anesthetist, Juvia."

There was a long pregnant silence between them. Both staring into each others eyes. Gray trying to convince her, and Juvia trying to seek the truth in him. Juvia swallowed the lump in her throat before asking; "Gray-sama wants Juvia to manipulate the heart to search the diseased tissue of the patient's heart?"

"Exactly," Gray grinned, relieved that Juvia finally understood him.

Juvia bit her lower lips. It's true that if the heart can be perfectly manipulated, tracing the tissue of a myopathy heart isn't impossible. But even with her calculations, it would still be a bit difficult. There was still a little doubt in her heart that maybe Gray was tricking her into another fraud.

"Juvia demands to see the patient's record first," she finally said.

"Of course," Gray nodded, grinning wider than he did. He did not get a 'yes', but at least it was better than a solid 'no'.

* * *

**A/N:** Anyway, for those who asked, Jellal would probably feel reluctant to let Juvia go, becoz ED is a department in need of anesthetists the most, that's why Gajeel and Juvia are there. They needed people who are good with drugs and great in skills in emergency situations, and those who possessed those two criteria are anesthetists. Of course, surgical departments need anesthetists just as much but since they usually do surgeries electively, they rarely need very good anesthetists becoz the anesthetists can take their time to get ready with their surgeries, if that make sense to you. Huhu.

And as usual, thank you for those who reviewed, they really mean a lot for me. Please continue to help a newbie like me improve. I still have a lot to learn; **SeptemberGurl, , Yukari Hiwada, The Golden Witch, LilTimy, Mango, elle003, Medaka-chan, superduperizee, TheLittleKittyMeows** and **mgaa**.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: **Even though I want to answer you comments, I can't because it would contain spoilers, LOL. But I'm so happy that most of you have had the clue of what might come after this. But I still wouldn't give it away. And, I decided to take it easy and go at my own pace with this story. Thank you so much for all the input! So enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 5**

* * *

"Haaaaaaaaaah."

Laxus and Jellal blinked.

"That was a very long sigh, Erza," Laxus laughed, and Erza blushed deeply at that.

"Don't laugh, idiot!" she scolded the blonde man. "I'm greatly troubled here and that's all you teased me? So much of a friend you are!"

Laxus was still laughing, patting his stomach as if he couldn't take it anymore. "But c'mon! It's not everyday we can see the great Erza Scarlet sighing _that_ long!"

"Shut up!" Erza whacked him on the head, only to have Laxus dodging behind Jellal, making Erza's hand accidentally hitting Jellal's shoulder. "Uh, sorry," she blushed softly.

"It's okay," Jellal shook his head. "Are you okay though?"

Erza glared daggers towards Laxus before sighing again. "I don't know. I feel really burdened with the Live Performance."

"You don't want Fullbuster to operate on the patient?" Jellal guessed.

"Partly yes," Erza nodded.

Jellal hummed. "But the surgery is a high level cardiac surgery. Aside from you, he's the only one who can do it." Which Erza definitely cannot do it since she's running for the election anyway.

"I know," Erza said, looking down a bit as she continued walking along with Jellal and Laxus along the hospital corridor. "But this Live Performance was put as the show for the professor election. I don't want people to think that I am taking advantage of it."

"Oh, you're bothered with all those vice professors who complained about your department?" Jellal chuckled softly. "Don't worry about them. They're just feeling insecure with their position because they're not good enough."

"Yeah, who cares if Gray operated on the patient anyway?" Laxus agreed. "This Live Performance is trying to show how they had taken care of their underlings. If the nurses and medical engineers sucks, Gray wouldn't be able to perform well, and it would reflect bad things for other departments too. Surgery is a teamwork, you should know that."

Erza pouted a bit. Laxus can say good things sometimes, despite being a meanie guy.

"But, dude," Laxus threw his arm around Jellal's neck roughly. "I can't believe you actually go against the professors about Gajeel."

"Oh that," Jellal smiled a bit. "Gajeel is going to kill me if I send him off without his permission. He'll be back tomorrow, I'll have to ask him first."

"Yeah but it's the professor's order."

"I don't care," Jellal shrugged. "The one who worked with me is Gajeel, not the professors. He has more priority to me."

Laxus raised an eyebrow. He liked how Jellal is so firm with his stand. He wouldn't admit it loud but Jellal is the perfect form of a leader. He took care of his team members, send them to proper training to increase their skills, and listen to their opinions when needed. Of course, he did use his authority when the time calls for it. But most of all, he is calm and collected. Making him the best decision maker among all the vice professors. Laxus figured it was probably the reason why he was one of the favorite professor candidate at the moment.

"We reached my office," Erza's steps slowed down as she reached her office door. "See you guys later."

Jellal nodded as he turned to her. "Don't think too much of the other's complaints, Erza. Just go with your pace. If you gain the professor title, it's because you deserve it," his hand gently reached Erza's head as he ruffled her scarlet hair softly.

Erza smiled at the blue haired guy, a tinge of pink adorning her cheeks as she bowed a bit and entered her office. Jellal stood there for a while until the door closed before turning back to Laxus, only to find his friend grinning like an idiot towards him.

"What?" Jellal flinched.

"For a second, I thought you were going to kiss her," Laxus teased.

"What the- No!" Jellal flustered. He felt himself blushing but tried to brush it away.

"Ah, the sexual tension," Laxus laughed.

"Shut up!" Jellal huffed at his friend.

* * *

Gray sat on the bench in front of the hospital door, leaning back as he stretched his limbs. The night sky was dark, and there wasn't a single star seen. No clouds either. It's going to be a cold night. He thought as he picked himself up, ready to go home. It was then that he was greeted by a soft voice.

"Gray," it was Lucy.

"Hey," Gray smiled a bit.

"Are you okay? You don't look good," Lucy said approaching him.

"Nah, I'm just tired. I've been working part time with the emergency department for some time now," Gray scratched the back of his head. His eyes scanning Lucy's outfit, being pink tight top with a short cream mini skirt. "Do you always wear such revealing clothes?" he asked before he could stop himself.

Lucy looked down to her outfit, then blushed when Gray made such a bold comment. "Well, uh... I, uh... Got used to it? Sorry..."

Gray laughed a bit at that then shrugged. "Where's Natsu?"

"He's on call, so I'll be heading home first."

"Alone? Looking like that?" Gray raised an eyebrow as he scanned Lucy's outfit again. Lucy blushed another deeper shades of red.

"You don't seem to like nurses like me," Lucy made a statement instead of answering, making Gray looked up to her brown orbs.

"I don't hate anyone," Gray said blandly.

"Yes, but you're scary when you're being prejudice."

Gray shook his head. "You're not scared of me."

"I do," Lucy countered shortly, leaving Gray speechless. "I was really scared when you said you wanted to test me as if I was never a good nurse."

"But your reflexes were good, you weren't consumed with fear."

"Because at that time, I was scared of something else greater than my fear to you," Lucy reasoned.

"And that is?"

"The patient's life."

Gray stared into Lucy's determined eyes. Part of him really didn't expect her answer. Whether Natsu had trained her well, or maybe Gray just underestimated her. He wouldn't care which though. He was glad enough that Natsu actually introduced her to him.

Gray grinned. "I kinda like you a bit."

And Lucy laughed. "Maybe I will like you more if you stop giving me those slutty comments?"

"I'll stop if you stop dressing as one," Gray chuckled.

Lucy hit Gray's arm as hard as she could.

* * *

When Gray barged into Erza's office the next day, she dropped her strawberry cake on the floor out of shock. Gray had to endure a few harsh beating from his vice professor after that. Of course, no one bother to save him from his wail though.

"So," Gray sat on the chair with a swollen eye. "Why is it that you call me, Erza?"

"First, remember to knock before entering," Erza stuffed her strawberry cake into her mouth. Gray thought it was already too late for that lesson with all the bruises he got.

"Second, you have a special patient to operate on for a Live Performance," Erza was munching her cake while her hand reaching for a file, handing it to Gray.

"Live Performance?" Gray frowned.

"Yeah," Erza nodded. "Your teammates for that surgery have been decided."

Gray scanned through the names and the patient's detail. "Aortic replacement and aneurysm repair? This surgery needs a lot of preparation."

Erza nodded but her eyes confirmed Gray that he didn't have a choice but to do it anyway. Gray took a deep breath. "I'll go through the details later. By the way, why are you dressed in all black today?"

Erza looked down to herself. She was wearing a black blouse with long dark skirt. A pair of black heels and her black suit completed the set. She smiled a bit at Gray. "I'm visiting a grave today. It's a death anniversary," Erza's eyes softened. "How about your cardiac myopathy patient, Gray? Have you finalized the team members?"

Gray looked down to Erza's outfit again for the last time before nodding. "I'm getting there. I already fix a date for the patient's surgery too."

* * *

"Head surgeon; Gray Fullbuster, First assistant; Natsu Dragneel, Anesthetist; Gajeel Redfox," Laxus scoffed as he read the team members for the Live Performance surgery. "What the fuck! It's practically the lineup of the famous apprentice of the professors," he threw the file back on Jellal's desk. "And what was that? They put a medical engineer from Orthopedic department in a cardiac surgery? What do they know about cardiac-lung machine?" his face contorted with disgust.

"Yeah, Gajeel's going to get pissed," Jellal sighed, watching how Laxus restlessly pacing around his office. "I think the Live Performance had turned more into political than an actual life saving one."

"Are you still going to change the anesthetist though?" Laxus stopped, putting his hands into his pocket as he faced Jellal.

Jellal shrugged. "I called Gajeel about it. He didn't sound too eager for it. I don't even know if he wants to do it after he reads the lineup."

"That metal piece? Trust me, he'll just trash this away. He's damn picky with the medical engineer that is not his girlfriend," Laxus laughed.

"Levy is good, Laxus. She's not an ordinary one," Jellal tried to defend his underling.

"Whatever," Laxus shrugged. He was never one to be interested in engineers anyway. "Hey, wanna get some drink at the bar after office?"

"Sorry, I have personal things to do today. Maybe tomorrow?" Jellal offered.

"Aww man, I'm gonna get bored today," his friend whined.

* * *

Juvia sighed, leaning herself on the table at the corner of the emergency room. Her eyes reading the patient's detail in the file Gray had given her. Evergreen Strauss, 29 years old, 27 weeks pregnant of the first child, previously no known medical illness. Due to the pregnancy, she developed enlargement of the cardiac myocardium, the internal heart expanded prominently, causing the heart to pump blood ineffectively. Ejection fraction was only 22%. Juvia took a look at the patient's x-ray. The heart was so big, it almost consumed the lung field. The index diameter was approximately 2.83 in Juvia's calculation. This woman can get into a heart failure condition anytime. She squinted a bit to look at the lungs. Surprisingly enough the lungs looked like they compensated well.

It seemed Gray had stabilize the patient for surgery. The data presented to her was the best they could offer to the anesthetist. But even so, this patient wouldn't have long to live if this goes on. Can Gray really be able to help this patient?

A finger poking her cheek, bringing her out of her reverie. Juvia turned around to see Gajeel and Levy grinning behind her.

"Gajeel-kun!" Juvia's face broke into a huge smile, launching herself towards the muscled man as she hugged Gajeel like her life depended on him. "When did you get back? Juvia missed you!"

Gajeel grimaced. "Ugh, get off me, woman!" he tried to push Juvia away but she didn't care. She hadn't seen Gajeel for two weeks long, and now that she did, she was going to latch on him the entire day.

Levy chuckled, watching his boyfriend desperately trying to break free. She knew Gajeel missed Juvia too though. "What were you reading just now, Juvia?"

Juvia loosened her grip as she turned to Levy. "It's a patient's file from cardiac department."

"Gray's patient?" Levy stole a look and Juvia nodded.

"Huh?" Gajeel frowned. "I thought I told you to shoot him down!"

Juvia pouted, tapping her chin with her index finger. "But I feel bad for him, he really needs Juvia."

Gajeel almost pulled out his hair. "That is exactly what is wrong with you! You're too soft! What will you do if he actually blame a failed surgery to the anesthetist?"

"That won't happen! Juvia isn't the same anymore, Gajeel-kun!" Juvia tried to protest.

"With you easily convinced by a man like him? I think you still are," Gajeel scoffed.

"Am not!" Juvia frowned. "Juvia has Gajeel-kun and Jellal-san and Levy-chan now. Juvia has nakamas, she is not the same anymore!"

Gajeel's brows raised in surprise. He didn't expect her to consider having him as something different in her life. But she was right for one thing. There is no way in hell Gajeel would let the case go if Gray ever pull a stunt like Bora did to her. And he was sure as hell Jellal would back her up if that happens. He cleared his throat, scratching his cheek a bit awkwardly.

Levy had to smile at the two. What she wouldn't tell is that she already accepted Gray's offer to join the same surgery. It's not that she didn't want them to know, but Levy wanted Juvia to come out with her own decision. If Juvia knew Levy is joining, Juvia might just follow her without even wanting to do it. To have a reluctant member in a surgery would cost them a lot, especially in such a difficult surgery as that.

"F-fine," Gajeel felt himself stuttering. "So, you really are joining?"

Juvia's face beamed. "Juvia wants to talk to Jellal-san about it," she nodded cheerfully.

That reminded Gajeel of something. "Oh yeah, Jellal called me to inform that I had to do the Live Performance surgery. I need to see him too."

"Live Performance? You were selected? That's awesome!" Levy gasped.

Gajeel rolled his eyes. "Selected? Oh please, it's more like because I'm connected to Metallicana. This annoys the hell out of me."

* * *

**A/N:** Yes, I've decided to use canon characters. Now that I think of it, I can make use of all the side characters too. Thank you so much for those who helped me out with this, I greatly appreciate it. On another note, anyone realized that Jellal's team consists of Fairy Tail Team B in Daimatou Enbu? No? Okay. Ignore me. LOL.

And as usual, thank you so much for those who reviewed; **xgasai-yunox, gruvialover, YukiOnnaMonet, The Golden Witch, Esthellar, Mango, Valm, elle003, SeptemberGurl, superduperizee, TheLittleKittyMeows, Sabaku no Sandra** and **Medaka-chan.**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N:** An update again! I wonder why I update quite fast too, LOL. I probably want to finish this quickly. I wonder how this fic will be like when it's finished. Oooh! And to answer the questions, yes, Live Performances do exist in real life. In fact, I actually got the idea of this fic when I was chosen into a Live Performance two months back. It was my first Live Performance and I was so excited. It wasn't a cardiac surgery though, it was a gastrointestinal surgery, but I wrote this story in a cardiac field becoz, well, I want to play with the heart. Of course, the patient needs to be consented that their surgery is gonna be broadcasted for all the conference to see. Btw, in the last chapter, I dunno if you call it a GrayLu moment or what, but Lucy is gonna be their teammate, she needs a bit of character development. I'd rather say it's more of friendship though. And yes, Elfman and Ever are married. I can't wait to finish their first surgery too. XD

* * *

**Chapter 6**

* * *

****Erza hugged the bouquet of white lilies in her left arm, walking carefully along the graveyard as she approached a particular grave. She paused when she saw two figures standing in front of it. Smiling, she greeted them politely.

"Er-chan! You came!" Millianna chirped happily, lunging towards Erza in a tight hug. Erza smiled, hugging her back as she bowed towards Kagura.

"Of course, I would never miss this day, Millianna," Erza stood in front of the grave, putting down the flowers then put her hands in prayers.

"Thank you, Erza," Kagura said, joining in the prayers. "If only my brother is still alive, we might have been family."

Erza opened her eyes from her prayers. "Please don't say that in front of Simon's grave. He's gone, let's respect his soul."

"Eh? Did he confess to you, Er-chan?" Millianna seemed excited.

Erza just smiled. Actually he did. But even if he didn't, Erza knew he loved her anyway. He was too obvious. He was her childhood best friend, but even so she can't really say she felt the same. But right now, standing in front of his grave, Erza wouldn't care whether she loved him romantically or in a platonic way. He is dead, and his soul deserved respect, as great of a man he was.

"How's your job, Millianna?" Erza decided to drive the topic away.

"Umm! I'm working very hard now!" Millianna cheered. "Even though the company's boss is such an ass but I love the friends I have in the office. And Kagura-chan is with me, so I never get lonely."

"I see. That's good," Erza smiled.

"And Er-chan! I made my own design of high heels too! The boss liked it!" Millianna sounded even happier.

They had been working at a fashion company, and had been active in designing. Even though Millianna had taken the liking more towards cat-like designs, she was quite creative herself.

"Would you like to have some tea together? It's been long and I wanted to know more about what happened to both of you," Erza offered.

"Why not?" Millianna jumped as she hugged Kagura's arm. "Ne, Er-chan, are you still the best surgeon in your department?"

Erza chuckled at her eagerness. "Well, not really," she said with Gray came into her mind. She wasn't being insecure, but at some point, she felt Gray is slowly surpassing her.

She heard Millianna whining and complained that Erza is still the best and Erza decided to let her with her own fantasy. Walking together towards their car, Erza called the hospital for a half day off. She had a lot of catching up to do.

* * *

"I see. So you're going to join his team?" Jellal asked, just to make sure.

Juvia pursed her lips a bit. Actually she wasn't really sure. There was still a little doubt chaining her heart, but she felt bad for the patient. She had a heart disease just because she wanted to be a mother. And there is no way they can save the pregnancy. The baby's circulation cannot be connected into a machine like the mother's, and when the mother's heart connected to the machine, there will be no blood supply from the mother to the fetus, and the baby will die. It's like they never had a choice.

"Y-yes," she stuttered a bit.

Jellal raised a brow. "Are you sure?"

Fisting her hands on her lap, Juvia forced a nod. "Yes, Jellal-san. Juvia wanted to save that patient."

Jellal smiled at the blue haired woman. He remembered the day when he found Juvia at the hospital in Oak Town. She was almost disliked by all her colleagues. Even though she had such a soft and kind heart. Her skills was definitely not mediocre. She was a perfect doctor for him.

"But, Juvia will still work for Jellal-san. Juvia does not intend to leave emergency department. Juvia loves it here," Juvia reassured him.

Jellal nodded at her words. "Why do you like emergency, Juvia?"

Juvia and Gajeel looked up at Jellal with the sudden question they didn't expect. Why do they like it? Is it just because Jellal was there? Or is it because of other reasons? Juvia wanted to answer, but she couldn't exactly find one.

Jellal chuckled. "I'll leave that as a question to ponder."

"Does Jellal-san approve Juvia to join the team?" Juvia asked unsure.

"If you wanted to yourself, I would never stop you," Jellal said, even though he was a bit reluctant himself. What if Juvia leave him for good? What if Juvia gets attached to the cardiac department? He needed more people like Juvia if he wanted to make his plan a success. But Jellal knew keeping her without her will wouldn't do his department any good. "Go and save the patient, Juvia. I'll be rooting you."

Juvia smiled a little too bright. "Thank you, Jellal-san!"

"And you, Gajeel. What do you say about the Live Performance?" Jellal turned his attention to the other guy.

Gajeel shoved the file back to Jellal. "I don't like the team."

"I thought so," Jellal couldn't help the smirk forming on his face.

"And my skill isn't for show, dammit," Gajeel complained in a higher tone.

"Yes, but there's a lot of patient would want to be saved by you," Jellal reasoned. "It's not all about show."

"You've got to be kidding me," Gajeel groaned. "That medical engineer from Orthopedic department will pull me down!"

Jellal sighed. "I'm sorry but I have no power towards other departments."

"Aww, come on, Gajeel-kun," Juvia faked a frown. "This can make you famous."

"I don't need any more fame than I already had," Gajeel looked away, hands folding on his chest.

"Is that a no?" Jellal asked.

"Yes."

Jellal had to sigh a bit. "Then I'll be picking other people." He will have an extra work to do.

"Do you need a recommendation?" Gajeel flashed a smirk.

Jellal stared at Gajeel, knowing just well what that smirk meant. He smiled then. "Let's talk about it later. I have somewhere I have to go today."

"A date? Gihee," Gajeel grinned teasingly.

To Gajeel and Juvia's surprise, Jellal had a sad smile at that comment. And instead of denying it, he gave a small nod. "You can say so, I guess."

When Gajeel and Juvia walked out of Jellal's office, Levy was already waiting outside. "How was it?" Levy asked.

"I shot the Live Performance down," Gajeel said simply. And Levy chuckled. That was so like Gajeel.

"Gajeel-kun is so stubborn," Juvia complained with a pout.

"Oh, shut up, woman. I need a more exciting thing to get on rather than a boring show like that," Gajeel groaned.

"Did you accept Gray's offer, Juvia?" Levy asked, a little too excited than she intended.

"Yes!"

Levy's smile widened. "That's good! It seems we'll be working together then."

Gajeel and Juvia stared at her. "What do you mean?"

"The surgery for Evergreen Strauss, I will be the medical engineer!"

* * *

Jellal walked out of the building, glancing at his wrist watch. It was already past office hour. He was sure at least he wouldn't meet anyone at the grave around this time. When he reached his car, he saw his friend leaning on a rail nearby.

"Laxus," Jellal said acknowledging his presence. "I thought I told you I can't join you to the bar."

Laxus snorted. "Yeah, I remember. I just forgot that it is _that_ day of the year."

Jellal didn't answer. He carefully approached the blonde guy and leant by the rail near his friend.

"Are you by any chance, still mourning and stuck yourself in the past?" Laxus asked when Jellal remained silent.

"Not really," Jellal looked up, staring into the endless sky. "I'm actually desperately chasing after the future."

"You mean through the professor election?" Laxus guessed.

"Exactly," Jellal's smile was soft. And for that moment, Laxus wild soul decided to keep quiet.

* * *

"Come in," Gray called out when he heard a knock on his office door. When the door opened, Gray didn't expect to see the person walking towards him.

"Sorry, is Juvia disturbing?" she asked a little too soft.

Gray smiled. "No, you're not. So, are you here for a good news?"

Juvia saw how his smiled turned into a cocky grin. She took a deep breath before straightening herself as she stood mustering her confidence. "Let Juvia make this clear first. Juvia is not doing this for the cardiac department," she said, and Gray raise a brow. "Juvia is still an ED staff, and this operation will be a courtesy of ED team as well. The success of this surgery will go into both record of the cardiac and emergency department."

"You mean, you're working in this surgery under the name of ED?" Gray assumed.

"Yes," Juvia nodded.

In other words, their success will go as a credit to both Erza and Jellal, huh? This girl is good. Gray shrugged. "I don't mind. Actually, make it three," he grinned. "After all, this surgery is carried out by three departments. Cardiac, vascular and emergency departments. Let's make it like a joined venture," he suggested. "Is that all you demand from me?"

"There's another one."

"Spill."

Juvia closed her eyes for a while, taking in a deep breath before looking back at Gray. "Don't fail, Gray-sama." _Don't fail, she's still young. She has a husband that needs her, she has a family to rebuild._ The words left unspoken, but her eyes gave it away.

Gray took a few seconds to study her expression. And then he smirked. "Of course. With this the team is complete. Gather everyone, we have a lot to talk about."

* * *

Gray attached Evergreen's x-rays and ultrasounds on the light box, then turned to the gathered members. He had called them for a meeting in his office. "As you can see, the heart enlargement is already more than 2.7, which means the heart is not that stable anymore. But if we operate now, we can still save her. I already scheduled the surgery next two weeks. We will proceed with an open heart surgery as planned."

"Can we expect the heart wall to be thin with such progress of the disease?" Lucy asked.

"Yes," Gray nodded.

"I will prepare the 5-0 suture together with 4-0 suture for the heart closure, just in case then," Lucy wrote something in her notebook.

"Yes, please, Lucy," Gray agreed. "And Levy, Juvia, please take note that the ejection fraction is only 22%. Not even half the normal value. The heart is pumping quite poor so we need adjustment in the drugs and heart-lung machine."

"Yes! Gray-sama!" Juvia nodded, smiling excitedly as she watched him dreamily. He looked even more handsome when he's serious.

"But I feel bad somehow," Levy sighed. "She's almost 7 months pregnant. Why didn't they detect this disease earlier?"

"It seems the obstetric check up missed it. They only checked the heart when she started to have symptoms of heart failure," Gray shrugged.

"Too bad, it's already 7 months. It's such a waste to abort the pregnancy now. I kinda pity her for some reason," Levy's tone was low, as if she was sulking to fate. "The baby must be very cute."

"Well, there's no use blaming anyone. We need to focus on the surgery."

"Do we have to abort the baby though? Is there any chance we can wait until the baby born then we start the surgery?" Lucy suggested.

"No," Gray shook his head. "Look at the heart, Lucy. This patient can go into heart failure anytime, and I can barely keep the lungs safe. If we don't operate her now, she might only have two months to live. She'll die before the baby even born."

"Don't worry, Lucy. As long as she's alive, she can get pregnant again," Natsu patted Lucy's shoulder.

"Anymore question?" Gray asked. "We'll be meeting Evergreen Strauss and her husband soon. Consent will be taken after each departments explain the surgery to her."

Wendy scanned the copy of the surgery details that was given to her. She was just an intern, she didn't have much experience in this type of difficult surgery. But being put into the team really did surprised her. She read the lineup once again. Head Surgeon; Gray Fullbuster. First Assistant; Natsu Dragneel. Second Assistant; Wendy Marvell. Scrub Nurse; Lucy Heartfilia. Anesthetist; Juvia Lockser. Medical Engineer; Levy McGarden.

"If there's nothing else to ask, I'd like to discuss about the approach of the surgery," Gray continued.

"Ano," Wendy finally spoke, and all eyes turned to her.

"Yes?"

Wendy fidgeted in her seat. "Why am I here?"

"Huh?" Natsu gave a confused look.

Wendy looked down, toying with her fingers on her lap. "Why am I here, after all the mistakes I did that caused a patient's life."

Gray leaned back as he heard Wendy's words that came out more like a whisper. But they heard her nonetheless. Gray understood what she meant though. She was referring to the accident happened during the ASD surgery, when she tripped on the cardiac-lung machine tubes. Yes, it caused a huge ruckus, Gray admitted. And he would definitely understand that guilt had been haunting Wendy all this time.

Gray remembered the conversation he had with Lucy just a few days ago. And he realized that Wendy was just like Lucy, being afraid when facing patient's life, especially after all that happened. He smiled inwardly. He was glad. Because even though they all came from different departments, they somehow connected to the same heart; the patient's heart. Gray thought he might get attached to this team more than he would like to admit.

"Wendy, you're an intern, you're bound to make mistakes," Gray started.

"But I did a grave mistake!" Wendy's head snapped up, and they noticed her watery eyes. "If Levy-san and Juvia-san didn't come that day, the baby might be dead by now!"

"Isn't that what red code is all about?" Gray asked, and Wendy looked at him in confusion.

"Red code is a calling for help, to the entire hospital, if anyone who are free would like to lend a hand. It's a calling that almost gets answered every time," Gray continued. "That surgery was a success, Wendy. To the patient, and to us." It was true. It was that surgery that led to the formation of this team.

Wendy frowned, looking back down to her lap.

"Erza and I already discussed this matter beforehand," Gray's tone sounded reproachful. "If you don't overcome your fear now, you will never step forward in your career. Face this, Wendy."

Wendy scrunched her eyes shut. The burden that chained her was too strong, she felt she almost buried deep into the earth. She almost killed a baby for heaven's sake! And what made it worse, even if the ruckus was her mistake, neither Levy nor Juvia, not even anyone in the team had blamed her for it. It was partly relieving, but partly agitating as well.

Juvia stared softly at Wendy, who looked like she almost shrunk between them. Wendy was young, and fate just had to crush her dreams. But Juvia wasn't any different. They had both faced the fierceness of their career at the very young age. But even so, Juvia wanted Wendy to know that every storm will have its rainbow.

* * *

**A/N:** When I first started this fic, I was actually planning to make Juvia a scrub nurse, but then I feel like a little too cliché about the doctor-nurse relationship so I decided to go against it. And as usual, I'd like to thank all those who reviewed and gave me courage through it; **babypapaya, xgasai-yunox, superduperizee, XxxJerza4everxxX**, **TheLittleKittyMeows, jerzalovealways,** **gruvialover, SeptemberGurl, The Golden Witch, Medaka-chan **and **elle003.**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N:** If you guys are wondering about the C Section, I'll try to explain this in the most simple way. Actually in surgeries like these, what more the patient is pregnant with heart dilatation, the most tricky part is the anesthetist part. They cannot perform a general anesthesia to do the C Section coz it is too heavy of a burden for the heart. Once they started it, they have to connect the lung to cardiac-lung machine in 1 hour, which by that time, the fetus would have been hypoxic. The other way was giving a spinal/epidural anesthesia, which in a heart dilatation like Evergreen's case, is impossible becoz spinal/epidural would cause further/worsening dilatation and the heart would crash. The baby might be safe, but the mother won't. And as cold as it may sound, in real life, this type of situation is one that they will have to chose which one to save, which the mother takes priority. Some anesthetists won't even do it. But this is why Juvia is here, so yeah. Stop making me give away spoilers, LOL just kidding.

* * *

**Chapter 7**

* * *

****The day when they met Evergreen and her husband, they thought the Strauss were a weird couple. What was with Elfman favorite word and Evergreen constantly bickering at her husband. But they managed to explain about the disease and the procedure anyway. Natsu let Gray do all the talking. He wasn't one who are good at counseling patients anyway.

"We will be connecting your heart to an external circulation machine to make your heart surgery possible. Then we will open your chest using middle incision technique to get to your heart, and cut out the diseased tissue. If coronary arteries are damaged, we will gather a graft to obtain the best circulation for the heart," Gray explained while drawing a heart and some vessels on a paper while drawing some arrows here and there to make the couple understand.

Evergreen was resting her hand fan on her face as she concentrated on the explanation before she decides to ask. "If my blood circulation becomes external, what will happen to the baby?"

Gray and Natsu kept quiet at the question, trying to find the best word to convey the message. Lucy, Wendy, Juvia and Levy who were standing behind them immediately looked down, avoiding eye contact.

"I'm sorry, but you have to give up the baby," Gray said in a low tone.

"What?" Evergreen snapped, eyes widening in disbelief. "You can't possibly tell me to kill my baby, idiot!"

"Ever..." Elfman was a bit surprised at his wife's sudden outburst.

"Shut up!"

Gray sighed. "In this type of heart surgery, the ideal anesthesia for you is to go for full anesthesia, which will have your heart to connect to the external circulation. This will be bad for the baby, as it won't receive any oxygen for over an hour. It will lead to death. It is beyond our skill to save both mother and baby," Gray carefully explained.

"I am not giving up the baby!" Evergreen exclaimed loudly, almost making Gray back off.

"But your life is at stake, Ever. It is a man's job to protect his wife," Elfman tried to keep Evergreen down.

"Don't you dare talking about your stupid manly principles here, Elfman. I was the one who endured the morning sickness, not you! I was the one carrying this heavy thing that you made inside me and now you want me to discard it? No _fucking_ way!" And with a huff, Evergreen stomped off the room. Elfman looked hesitating a bit before following his wife.

Gray sat for a while, not saying anything. He knew it was a hard choice. And if Evergreen needed more time to calm down, he would gladly give it to her. He had always encounter this type of patient while being a surgeon. But even so he still felt bad when he had to convey the news.

"So? What now?" Natsu broke the silence.

"We'll wait till they calm down and talk to them again. This surgery is of high risk itself even if she's not pregnant. She have to understand that," Gray stood up, cleaning his desk from the papers.

"I still feel bad," Levy bit her lips, feeling the unsettling feelings inside her stomach.

"Yeah," Lucy agreed. "Can't we do something?"

Gray looked at the girls, sighing at their reluctance. "We have to. Look, the heart is definitely not stable, like I told you before. Attempting spinal anesthesia will increase the burden to the heart and she might die before she can even hold the baby. And I already told you it's impossible in general anesthesia too."

"What if we go with general anesthesia, then perform a C Section right after induction before connecting the heart to the machine?" Levy suggested.

"I need at least one hour to connect the heart to the machine, Levy. And you know that. If we delay it with a C Section prior to that, we might won't be able to save Evergreen," Gray reasoned.

Levy sighed, looking down to the floor. Gray was right though. In her career as a medical engineer, she had never seen a surgeon who managed to connect them in less than an hour.

"We'll meet again later when the Strauss decide with their option. We already explained everything, they will decide once they calm down," Gray put the files back into their place. "Wendy, go and check on Evergreen if you have some time, alright?"

* * *

"You have been awfully quiet, woman," Gajeel said after stabilizing a patient.

Juvia lifted her head, looking at the man she had almost seen as her closest brother, even though she never really had a relative in her whole life. Somehow, Jellal's team had been her only family since they took her in. "Gajeel-kun."

"What the hell are you thinking?" Gajeel asked, munching his hamburger as he lay back on the bench at a corner in the ED.

Juvia pursed her lips, leaning back on her chair. "Gajeel-kun, is it possible to perform a spinal anesthesia in a cardiac myopathy patient?"

"Not possible. You'll kill the patient," Gajeel said, munching another bite.

"Juvia thought so," Juvia sighed heavily.

Gajeel raised a brow, sitting back as he watched his friend. "Why?"

Juvia slowly shook her head. "Juvia was thinking maybe she could save Evergreen-san's baby. Guess Juvia is too naïve."

Gajeel paused and stared at her before continue munching his hamburger. After finishing his food, he dug the rack behind him, pulling a book and slammed it in front of Juvia, making Juvia jump a little.

"The textbook says no," he said.

"Juvia knows," Juvia stared at the book. 'Anesthesia in Heart Disease'.

"I mean, the _textbook_ says no," Gajeel emphasized his words.

Juvia looked up at Gajeel when she heard his tone, and for a while, they were gazing intensely into each others eyes. Gajeel looked down at her. _It's the textbook saying, Juvia._ Then they heard a bell. "Another patient," Gajeel pointed to the ED door with his thumb. "Let's go."

* * *

"How do you feel, Evergreen-san?" Wendy greeted as she walked in Evergreen's ward. The brown long haired woman was staring outside the window, watching something that Wendy assumed was amusing enough with how her usually stoic face looked so bright. Wendy peeked down the window, wondering what it was that really caught Evergreen's attention.

Wendy's eyes widened a bit at the sight. It was a playground, and she could see a couple of children playing together. Wendy gasped a bit, turning to face the pregnant woman.

"Aren't they lively?" Evergreen said, eyes still fixed to the playground as she caressed her slightly swollen belly.

"Evergreen-san," Wendy whispered, starting to feel bad about the reason she was there.

"Honestly speaking, I never imagined myself being a mother. In fact, I'll probably be the worst mother ever. I'm vain and very demanding, I know," Evergreen sighed. "When I knew I got pregnant, I panicked because I really don't know how to face the little baby. But right now, I can feel him."

Wendy frowned. And Evergreen scoffed, tearing her gaze from the window. She almost couldn't believe she was being this sappy. This was not like her at all. Damn those pregnancy hormones.

"You can feel him?" Wendy asked slowly.

Evergreen nodded. "Even now I can feel him kicking inside me with all his might. It hurts like hell, but each time he did, I can feel him. This baby, even if he wasn't even born, is already our wonderful child. Just that makes me feel that, even if I had to die, I really want to hug this child."

Wendy stood there speechless. All the words she had in her mind, all the sentences she practiced to convince Evergreen to give the baby up, for that moment of time, had just flew out of the window. Her heart was throbbing painfully, making her hard to breathe.

"Even if it's just one minute will do. I just want to hold this baby," Evergreen caressed her stomach softly again. "If I can just see this baby born, I thought living with this disease would be all worth it."

Her face was so soft, while talking about the unborn baby. At that moment, Wendy thought she was already a good mother. Loving her child unconditionally, even willing to face the challenge of life to deliver him. Her face was bright with hope. Wendy could never bear telling her to give up.

* * *

Wendy sighed heavily, plopping herself on her chair in the cardiac department room as she rested her head on her desk. "I'm so tired," she breathed.

"Tired of what?" Romeo asked incredulously.

"Lately we've been having some problem with the Strauss," Wendy said, still not moving her head. "They strongly disagree about giving up the baby. We cannot proceed with the surgery if they don't consent to it."

"Well, it's always the problem between doctors and patients," Romeo shrugged, sipping his juice while reading his magazine. "Patients are emotional material. They have feelings. Doctors are too objective and emphatic. Some things are not possible and we will think of the ideal way to solve it. But the patient cannot let go because of their emotion. We need to make them understand our situation too."

Wendy lifted her head, staring at Romeo at his desk. "Why are you so nonchalant about this? Don't you feel bad for them too?"

Romeo blinked and looked back. "Well, it is because a surgeon can forget about the emotions, that's why they can cut open a human, don't you think?"

Wendy looked down, her fingers playing with the papers in front of her idly. "Lately I've been thinking, perhaps I'm not cut to be a surgeon."

"What?" Romeo choked on his drink. "Why would you say that?"

"I've always made mistakes, one even almost cost an innocent life. And the whole emotional stuff, I can't bring myself to ignore it," Wendy said sadly. "I met Evergreen for a few times already, she kept saying she had gone through a lot for the baby. I can't simply ignore it and convince her to give up."

"Don't be silly, Wendy," Romeo waved his hand dismissively. "It's not like I never made mistakes. And she will have to chose. She won't have that long to live anyway."

* * *

"You're selected for the Live Performance too?" Natsu asked, sitting on the chair in Gray's office with Lucy.

"Yeah. We'll be working together again after Evergreen's surgery, I guess," Gray shrugged, still typing something in his computer.

"Should we discuss about the Live Performance too then?" Natsu asked. "If I'm going to do a surgery with a scrub nurse that is not Lucy, I don't think I'll enjoy it."

"Natsu!" Lucy scolded, pinching Natsu's cheek roughly, making Natsu cringe in pain.

"You're being too attached with her," Gray laughed. "But I want to focus on Evergreen's surgery first, then we can talk about the Live Performance. We still haven't get her consent for the surgery."

"That's because she doesn't want to give up the baby," Natsu huffed.

Gray wanted to answer when he heard a knock on his office door. He quickly granted the permission. And when the door was opened, he was a little surprised to see Elfman standing there.

"Come in," Gray smiled at him, shoving his hand to the sofa gesturing him to sit.

Elfman bowed a bit, then walked and sat on the sofa at the side of the office. Gray, Natsu and Lucy joined to sit with him right after.

"I didn't know you came," Gray said politely.

"Oh, yeah. My wife doesn't know I'm here," Elfman smiled a bit, not quite reaching his ears.

"What's wrong?" Gray asked.

They saw Elfman closing his eyes for a moment, as if he was bearing something very heavy, then opened his eyes in determination. "About the baby, I will have Ever to give it up."

Gray's eyes widened in surprise. "What do you mean?"

"Right now, she will never do the surgery for the sake of the baby. If this goes on, she will die," Elfman explained.

"But what about the baby?" Lucy asked in disbelief. She was shocked to say the least.

Elfman looked down sadly. "That baby is our dream. But even so, to me, Ever's life is the most important. I'm a man. It would be so unmanly of me if I cannot even protect her."

Gray stared at the muscled man, grieving in his despair. Considering his own side, this would be a good news. But he knew, just to come to this decision, Elfman must have had a difficult time. He was letting go of his dream. It wasn't something as easy, Gray knew. But there wasn't anything he could say to make thing better too.

* * *

Natsu sat on the table in the vascular department, staring at the light box with Evergreen's x-ray and ultrasound. He was so absorbed in the image that he didn't even realized Laxus was there.

"Why the hell are you still here? Not going home?"

Natsu jumped at the sudden intrusion. "What the fuck, stop creeping on me!"

"Huh?" Laxus looked at him incredulously. "When the hell did I even creep on you? You were the one who was daydreaming!"

"I did not!" Natsu protested. "I was _thinking_!"

"You? Thinking?" Laxus burst into laughter.

"Hey! What's so funny about it?" Natsu snapped.

"You never think, Natsu. You only act," Laxus was still trying to contain his laugh.

Natsu grumbled, turning back to the light box angrily. He wasn't in the mood to pick a fight with Laxus at this moment. "Lucy is damn troubled with this little flesh, and I don't like it when she's sad."

"How romantic," Laxus teased.

"Fuck yourself, Laxus," Natsu clicked his tongue in annoyance.

"I always did," Laxus laughed more, and Natsu groaned.

* * *

It was already passed midnight. Finishing his work in ED, Gray went to his locker, getting ready to go back. But just as he was crossing the empty hospital lobby, he noticed a certain familiar blue haired girl sitting on the sofa at the corner of the lobby, her body slightly leaning to the side and by the rhythm of her breathing, Gray knew she was asleep. Carefully he approached the girl and patted her shoulder gently.

"Juvia, wake up," he called, making the girl shifted in her place, eyes scrunching a bit. "Why didn't you go back yet?"

Juvia opened her eyes a bit, welcoming the dim light into her eyes. "Gray-sama, why are you here?"

"I just finished my shift," Gray said. "You finished yours hours ago, you should have been back."

"Oh, yeah, sorry," Juvia carefully sat up, rubbing her eyes sleepily. That was when Gray noticed the book in her lap. Had she been studying?

"What were you reading?" Gray asked, his hand reached out to the book.

Juvia's eyes snapped open, quickly closing the book and pulling it away from Gray. "It was nothing. Juvia was just reading some random stuff."

Gray blinked at her weird reaction. And if Gray learnt anything from working with her at ED is that a weird Juvia is actually a hesitant Juvia, mainly born by the inferiority she had from her past. She would always retreat when she felt she wasn't good enough, but would look very confident when facing a life. Gray loved the confident part of her. She looked fierce and dependable. And now that Juvia is in his team, he decided he wanted to bring out more of her confidence. He wanted Juvia to be herself. He wanted her to openly express her opinions.

Gray slid to the sofa and sat by Juvia's side. "Have you ever joined a club at school, Juvia?"

Juvia was still a bit tired but having Gray sitting close to her had woken up half of her senses. Snuggling to Gray's side, she smiled happily. "Did Gray-sama join one?"

"I did," Gray grinned, didn't even care if Juvia sat a little too close to him. "It was an ice sculpture club. I always love ice, it's cold and I hate heat so it kinda suit me."

"Gray-sama can make a sculpture?" Juvia asked in awe.

"Just a bit. I haven't done one for the longest time though," Gray scratched the back of his head. "Have you join a club yourself?"

Juvia's hold on Gray's arm loosened a bit, and she looked down a little sad. "Juvia had never join one. The kids didn't like Juvia, so they didn't want Juvia to join."

Gray stared at her. She's got to be kidding him.

"Juvia was always alone since baby. Because her parents died, she stayed at the orphanage, but no one seems to like her. They said she was too gloomy," Juvia continued.

Gray wanted to say something, but he couldn't really find the right word. And instead of messing up with his words, he reached out a hand and softly patting her head, feeling the soft long wavy hair between his fingers. Juvia felt his hand comforting her, and she smiled at him.

"But Juvia loves swimming when she had the time," she said in a more cheerful tone. "The water calmed her down and she is good at swimming!"

Gray chuckled. "Oh, that's good. At least you have a stress reliever."

"Juvia still love it now, and do you know that Juvia won the school swimming competition," her eyes were shining, and for a moment, Gray thought she looked really beautiful in the dimly lit lobby.

"That's cool," Gray grinned. "Oh look who's there?" he quickly pointed to the opposite direction. When Juvia turned to see, Gray quickly snatched the book in her hands, holding it high as to not letting her to get it back. She turned back, face looking in horror as she climbed on Gray's lap to get her book.

"Gray-sama is so mean!" Juvia whined.

Gray laughed. "Why are you ashamed about the book anyway? Were you reading porn?"

"No!" Juvia blushed heavily, her hands still trying to reach her book which was proven a bit hard as Gray's arm is fairly longer than hers.

Gray had to hold Juvia's waist down to prevent her from literally climbing his arm to get her precious book. He quickly took a peek at the cover he was holding. "Anesthesia in Heart Disease?" he read, and he felt Juvia's movement stopped.

It was when Gray looked back to her that they realized they were in a very awkward position. She was sitting in his lap, with his arms around her waist, and their faces are just inches away. They blushed and Gray quickly let go of her. Juvia managed to get her book back when Gray's hand rested by his side, and she hugged the book to her chest and sat back at her place.

Gray cleared his throat, looking to the other side. "So, you were reading about anesthesia? Why?" He could feel his heart drumming on his ribs.

Juvia shook her head, still hugging her book dearly. "It was nothing. Just Juvia's stupid thinking."

"You were never stupid," Gray countered, glancing to her slightly, still a little embarrassed to face her. "What is it that you were thinking?"

Juvia's lips pouted slightly, lifting her head a bit. "Juvia feels really bad about Evergreen-san. She wanted to find a way to save her baby."

It was then that Gray finally turn to face her. "Juvia, surgeons cannot be consumed by emotions," he reminded her.

"But Juvia is not a surgeon," she looked up to him, staring into his dark blue eyes. "Juvia is not a surgeon, so Juvia is allowed to be overwhelmed with emotions, isn't she?"

Gray was left speechless at that. It's not like he didn't feel sorry for the Strauss. But he knew it very well how impossible the surgery would be if they attempt to deliver the baby. They cannot do a spinal analgesia as the heart will crash, but they cannot save the baby if they opted for general analgesia. Either way it was a win-lose situation. They just had to chose. But Juvia wasn't a surgeon. She was an anesthetist. And anesthetist always drove on emotions to save lives.

Juvia sighed, throwing her gaze back to the floor. "Do you ever have a dream, Gray-sama?" she didn't expect him to answer though. "Have you ever thought of how would you feel if your dream is snatched away from you when you're just one step away from it?"

Gray wasn't a man who would be caught up in emotions. In fact, his cold heart was a perfect mold for a surgeon. But he does have a dream. That alone wasn't that hard to imagine. "Did you find a way though?"

Juvia pursed her lips, making a humming sound as if she was thinking very hard. "Gray-sama, how long is your best record at connecting the heart to the cardiac-lung machine?"

* * *

**A/N:** I'm actually very excited that you guys are giving attention to the details and even try to come up with the solution with them. I feel like we're all on the ride with Gruvia team. :3 And as usual, thanks to those who reviewed, thanks for all the support and encouragement. I greatly appreciate it; **superduperizee, xgasai-yunox, midnight0sun95, Medaka-chan, Esthellar, The Golden Witch, TheLittleKittyMeows, elle003, gruvialover **and **Yukari Hiwada.**

Anyway, **gruvialover**, don't worry, your English is understandable. English isn't really my first language either. ;)


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N:** The plan that they are going to do, please don't try this at home/hospital/suggest it to your doctor. There is no actual study that proven its success, so yeah. LOL. This story is purely fictional, any deaths concerning trials of any methods prosecuted in this story is out of my responsibility. XD

Anyway, I kinda unsatisfied with how this chapter turned out. But after a few edits, I decided to settle with this one. I'm not too happy with it though. I hope I could do better on next chappie. :(

* * *

**Chapter 8**

* * *

"We're going to save both the mother and the baby?"

"Yes," Gray nodded firmly.

Natsu raised a brow, staring at his frenemy. "Explain," he folded his arms on his chest. "You were the one who said it was impossible."

"I did," Gray agreed. "But situation changed. We're not playing around the safety zone anymore. Juvia, explain to them," Gray stepped aside, making way for the blunette.

Juvia bit her lips, a little unsure about how to proceed. Talking about it with Gray in the dark lobby so informally was way different than having all eyes on her. And what made it even worse was that the people in front of her now were geniuses; Igneel's apprentice, the born genius Levy and the experienced scrub nurse. She fidgeted in her seat.

Sensing her hesitation, Gray grabbed her arm gently then pulled her to his side. Staring reassuringly at her, his hand gave her arm a little pressure, as if telling her it was going to be alright. "It was a great idea, so have more confidence," he coaxed.

Juvia smiled a bit then turned back to her new comrades. "Well, it's not that Juvia oppose of anything, Juvia just thought we could do something," she started, and paused but no one in the room interrupted her. "So, she was thinking," she cleared her throat, obviously still feeling nervous about it. "Our problem was the timing, so if we can adjust the timing, there might be a chance for us to save both."

Her nakamas were still sitting still, waiting for her further explanation. Gray nodded to her, urging her to continue.

"The problem about the spinal anesthesia is how the dilated heart cannot stand the drugs. Juvia was thinking, that in that case, we can probably perform the spinal anesthesia using half of the usual dose and then Juvia can try to hold the heart," Juvia said.

Natsu's eyes widened a bit. "Juvia, the spinal dose for normal C Section is already half the usual dose. Are you telling me you're going to half it even more? It won't be adequate."

"Yes, but Juvia will not use the usual Bupivacaine. She will use Sodium Thiopentone which is lighter for the heart, and turn the spinal anesthesia into a saddle block and concentrate the anesthesia at the part to be cut. Of course, you have to do the pfannensteil incision," Juvia reasoned.

"It's still very risky. How long you can hold a severely dilated heart until we connect her to the cardiac-lung machine?" Natsu frowned a bit.

"Juvia will try her best to keep up with surgeons. However, because we are using half the dose of Sodium Thiopentone, the effect of the spinal will not last too long as the normal spinal anesthesia. It will maintain up to one hour top, then Juvia had to change it to general anesthesia. The C Section have to be finished by then," Juvia said, her tone still a bit low.

Natsu, Lucy, Levy and Wendy stared at Juvia in silence. Each trying to register the new plan given. That means, they will put Evergreen on saddle block for an hour then go on another hour to connect the heart to the machine. Two hours in total. Does Juvia really have confidence to hold that long?

"I'll complete the connection in 45 minutes," Gray interrupted. "You can have the whole one hour to yourself, Natsu."

Juvia bit her lips. "Of course, we can only do this if you agree-"

"Screw that one hour!" Natsu suddenly stood, punching his palm in excitement with a huge grin plastered on his face. "Leave the C Section to me. I'll finish it in less than 15 minutes!"

Juvia gasped. "No, Natsu-kun doesn't have to rush!"

Natsu laughed. "Don't worry, Juvia. My best record at C Section is 10 minutes."

Gray had to contain his surprise at that. He knew Natsu was known as the fastest surgeon, but he didn't expect him to be able to finish a C Section in 10 minutes. That was damn fast, too fast for a normal people.

"Are we on, Lucy?" Natsu asked, still pumped up.

Lucy snickered. "Do you still have to ask? I was trained alongside the fastest surgeon all this time. I am made for fast surgeries."

"I don't see a problem to try this myself either," Levy nodded with a confident smile.

"Alright, this is getting interesting. I'm all fired up!" Natsu fisted his right hand.

But in the midst of their excitement, Wendy shrunk in her place, eyes widened in horror. Wait a minute! She looked at the members in the room. Of course they wouldn't have a problem with that! Natsu was the fastest surgeon trained under the famous vascular professor. Gray was the chosen two that was trained under the famous cardiac surgeon. Lucy was an experienced talented scrub nurse who had been with Natsu for the longest time. Levy was, well, she was just a genius. And Juvia, even though Wendy never really heard of her before, but they all witnessed what she was capable at during the red code call.

Wendy gulped hard. She cannot catch up with them. This surgery they are going to attempt on Evergreen was practically like a relay race. Juvia will perform spinal anesthesia and hold the heart, then passed to Natsu to perform the C Section, then Juvia will convert to general anesthesia, and then Gray will take the baton and connect the heart to the machine. And as the second assistant, Wendy will have to assist both Natsu and Gray. It was a relay race against time. She cannot possibly catch up with them.

"Alright, in that case, we're going to do more preparation," Gray took out Evergreen's file and put it on the table. His teammates had gathered around to listen.

"Wait a minute!" Wendy cried out, successfully gaining all attention to her. "I... I can't do it!"

Gray frowned a bit at that. "What do you mean, Wendy?"

"I can't do this surgery," Wendy looked down from Gray's stare. "I'm not fast, I'm not talented. I'm going to fail the surgery! I'm going to fail you!"

"Wendy-san, that's not true," Juvia tried to convince her.

"Look, Wendy," Gray sighed. "If you need time, we can give you. Since we're now planning to save both, we'll postpone the surgery until Evergreen is 34 weeks pregnant. It would be better for the baby too as the baby's lungs would mature more in 34 weeks, and it's still within the two months period for Evergreen. During that time, you can train to perfect your skills."

"But what if I make another mistake that can cause Evergreen-san's life?" Wendy objected.

"At that time, we are here for you," Gray said. "You are not the only one who is scared when facing a life, Wendy. We all do. But we have our nakama who will be there for you."

Wendy wasn't sure what she really feel that time. Part of her wanted to continue, another part wanted to quit. She was torn. She didn't want to give up, but she didn't want to gamble on a risky life either.

"Wendy," Natsu placed a soothing hand on Wendy's shoulder. "You still have time, I will train you to catch up with my C Section until that day comes."

"And if until that day you still hesitate, you are free to quit this team," Gray added.

Wendy looked up to Gray. "You will let me quit?"

"Yes, I won't force anyone into this," Gray nodded. "Take your time to train, and then decide for yourself."

Lucy smiled at Gray. "I kinda like you a bit," she chuckled, mocking Gray's tone a few days ago, and Gray groaned.

* * *

"They are trying to save both mother and baby?" Laxus widened his eyes at the news. "And you two allowed them to? And they even postponed the surgery?"

"They're trying something good, so why not?" Erza shrugged, munching her cake.

"Hey, I'm not the one up for the next professor election, but since the election is just around the corner, isn't it a bit too risky to fail a surgery?" Laxus frowned disagreeing.

"You're not running for it, so why worry?" Erza rolled her eyes.

"Anyway, Erza, why did you bring a cake into my office?" Jellal interrupted.

"Eh?" Erza stuttered. "Well, I passed by the café on the way here and the cake looks tasty."

"Yeah, all cake populations are in danger of extinction against you," Laxus mumbled.

"What did you say?" Erza glared at the man. Erza was never been intimidated by someone. Or more likely people were scared of her. Unfortunately Laxus wasn't one of them. Mainly because Erza was harmless to him. He has enough power, strength and authority to go against Erza, much to her chagrin.

"By the way, Laxus, are you saying that you're the only vice professor in this team that oppose to their decision to save both mother and baby?" Jellal changed the topic.

Laxus glared at Jellal. "Your ability to stay calm at all times really gets into my nerve sometimes," he groaned, leaning back on his seat. "If you and Erza are okay with it, I don't even mind. Like I said, I'm not the one running for the professor election."

"It's like a double edged sword," Erza continued munching her cake, seemingly Laxus had toned down at teasing her. "The surgery can give both benefit and disadvantage at the same time. But I trust in them."

They were chatting about random things when they heard a soft knock. Jellal quickly granted his permission, since they weren't in a serious discussion anyway.

"You were expecting someone?" Laxus asked.

"Oh yeah," Jellal nodded. "Gajeel and I have decided on the anesthetist for the Live Performance."

"Really?" Laxus and Erza choired. "Who?"

"Sorry for disturbing," Juvia walked in, then paused when she saw Laxus and Erza. "Ano, sorry, Juvia wasn't expecting that Jellal-san was in a meeting-"

"No, no, Juvia, we're not in a meeting. They're just jobless," Jellal quickly denied, which made him receive a whack on the head from Laxus. "That aside, I have something important to tell you."

* * *

Gray lazily knocked and opened the door to Jellal's office, twirling his keys in his finger when he recognized a long haired brunette with a short white shirt, leaving her flat stomach entirely exposed paired with a tight black capri pants.

"Cana?" he greeted, slightly surprised by the presence of the other girl sitting on the sofa.

"Hey!" Cana greeted back with a huge grin. "Why are you here? Don't tell me you have an affair with Jellal," her brows were wriggling teasingly.

"What was that supposed to mean?" Gray groaned in disgust. "Where the hell have you been? Never seen you for months. And where's Jellal?"

"Ah, Jellal went to pick his file for a bit. And I've been into numerous training lately," Cana shrugged, drinking something Gray smelt like alcohol from her little bottle.

"What kind of training does a medical assistants do?" Gray eyed the bottle and snorted. This girl never changed.

Cana's eyes were glimmering, her finger swayed from side to side as she chuckled. "That's a secret."

"Huh?" Gray grimaced.

"What is a secret?" a voice interrupted.

Cana almost jumped at that, turning back when she saw her vice professor standing behind her. "Ah, Jellal, don't you ever do that again," she complained in annoyance.

"Oh, sorry," Jellal smiled apologetically then bowed a bit towards Gray to acknowledge his presence. "How was your ED work, Fullbuster?"

"It's fine. I'm finishing my one month part time today. Here," Gray said in the same polite manner.

Cana looked at the two guys alternately. "Hold on a second! Gray was working at ED?"

"Yeah, he has in a while already."

Cana nudged Gray with a playful grin. "What's this? Do you need extra money?"

Gray groaned at that. "No." He wasn't keen to tell Cana the reason he went to ED. He will never hear the end of it.

Cana faked a gasp while turning to Gray. "Wait, is that a blush? You're blushing! Gray is blushing!"

"What?" Gray snapped. "No, I didn't! Where does that come from?"

"Aww, don't be shy," Cana grinned cheekily. "You can tell Cana-nee about it."

"To hell with your Cana-nee," Gray rolled his eyes.

Jellal had to chuckle at their friendly brawl. Cana and Gray had been friends for so long, they had always been comfortable around each other. When Jellal had first came to the hospital, Cana and Gray were already there. Interestingly though, when Jellal did a reformation of reshuffling the ED staff, Cana was outstanding enough to stay as the medical assistant. She had the talent that not even some average doctors had. And that was also the reason why Cana had been one of his trusted people.

"By the way, Fullbuster, since you're here I might as well inform you that I've changed your anesthetist for the Live Performance," Jellal interrupted the duo.

"Really? And who would that be?" Gray asked.

Jellal smiled. "It was Gajeel's choice, but I would have picked her anyway," he began. "It's Juvia."

Gray's eyes widened a bit in surprise.

"Juvia's going to be in a Live Performance?" Cana stopped swinging her drink. "You mean _our_ Juvia? Did she get over her inferiority already?"

"Juvia and Fullbuster are going to work together anyway, so this Live Performance would be a good start," Jellal shrugged. "And since you postponed Evergreen's surgery, it seems that you would be doing the Live Performance first, since it will be two weeks earlier from her surgery."

"Whoa whoa, wait a second!" Cana hold up her hands in surrender. "Since when did Juvia and Gray get along together."

"Oh, he was very passionate about our Juvia," Jellal teased. "He did everything to get her even if he had to work part time at ED."

"What? No!" Gray snapped. "Well, yes at some point, but it's not like that! You made it sound way out of how it was!"

Cana looked amused at the news, raising her brows with a wicked grin. "Oh Gray, I was just away for four months course and you're already getting laid-"

"Will you stop overanalyzing what people said?" Gray yelled back at her.

"By the way, Fullbuster," Jellal interrupted. "Did you remember the nurse you told me who worked a little slow in ED?"

"What about her?" Gray squinted, remembering the nurse that assisted him to suture a patient's wound.

"I already sent her for training," Jellal said. "Mediocre isn't allowed in my department. Thanks for informing me about her."

"Geez, you're strict as usual," Cana laughed.

"Skill is an absolute requirement for emergency rescuing. I'm just pushing my staff to their potential limit," Jellal shrugged.

* * *

"No, no, Wendy. At this point, you have to secure my vision field over the lower part of the uterus. Make sure you pull down the bladder," Natsu shook his head, patiently demonstrated on the mannequin.

"L-like that?" Wendy stuttered a bit.

"Yes, let's do it one more time. We'll do it slowly first before we try the fast C Section so that you can get used to it. Relax, alright," Natsu took his instruments again and stood beside the mannequin.

Wendy tried her best to train again, holding the retractor against the mannequin opening. Her eyes watching Natsu's hands demonstrating the imaginary C Section. His fingers were twisting the thread into a surgical knot, connecting to the clamps and gave it to her.

Wendy obediently hold them and did as she was instructed, trying her best to provide the best surgical vision for Natsu. But even in the casual training, Wendy couldn't help but to admire Natsu's skills. His hands were fast and smooth, never even split in any steps. Almost like a machine. Wendy thought in this world, such thing as a talent really do exist.

"Yo!" Gray greeted as he walked in the vascular department. "How was your training."

"It was good and smooth until you appear," Natsu stuck out his tongue.

Gray grimaced. "Stop acting like a kid. Anyway, we have to talk about the Live Performance, since it would be two weeks earlier than Evergreen's surgery."

Natsu blinked. "Shit, I forgot we postponed Evergreen's surgery. I was too excited with her surgery that I almost missed the Live Performance."

"Because you're an idiot," Gray snickered, but quickly continued before it got to Natsu's head. "Anyway, Gajeel refused to join us, and Juvia will be in the surgery instead. The three of us need to talk about the Live Performance later. Come to my office at lunch time tomorrow. I texted Juvia about it too."

"Yeah, okay," Natsu nodded.

"See ya," Gray waved and turned to leave, but he paused a bit to look at Wendy. "Did you gain a little more confidence now?"

Wendy was a bit taken aback at the question, but she looked down from Gray's eyes. "Umm, maybe."

_Not_.

She knew Natsu was a genius, and she had feel that maybe she cannot catch up with him. But just watching how Natsu's hands work today was beyond her imagination. He was probably faster than Gray.

* * *

**A/N:** Before anyone asked, I'd like to say that a surgeon who can perform a C Section in 10 minutes really does exist. Probably one in a million, it was an inhumane speed. But I've watched once, and she was damn fast, I can hardly believe my eyes. Can you imagine a C Section in 10 minutes? The family members probably didn't even had the chance to worry, LOL. And, Cana entered the screen! She's a medical assistant, or paramedic as widely used. But she won't be actively involve at the moment.

And duh, we are Gruvia fans, of course we love the little Gruvia moments. I can't wait when I can freely write their more intimate moments together! XD And Jerza will have their own share, since Jellal is pretty much quite an important character in this story.

And again, thanks for all who reviewed and supported me; **xgasai-yunox, ProjXPsyClone, midnight0sun95, gruvialover, TheLittleKittyMeows, superduperizee, elle003, Weeirdinwonderland, Yukari Hiwada, Mango, Medaka-chan, IndigoHailstorm **and **imahappyperson.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

* * *

****That day Gajeel regretted one thing; he did not take an emergency leave. He should have known better than to come at work while Juvia was still high at the fact that he and Jellal and put her up for the Live Performance. He was trying to enjoy his lunch while having Juvia pestering him about how happy she was to be by her Gray-sama in such prestigious stage since 6 in the morning. Oh yeah. He should have turned off his cellphone too.

"Juvia cannot believe it, Gajeel-kun," she was squeaking excitedly. "She will work with Gray-sama again! Juvia can't wait. What should Juvia wear?"

"In case you have forgotten, woman, you're going to wear the operation theatre uniform," Gajeel said in a boring tone, propping his head on the café table.

"But Juvia can do some make up," she cupped her own cheeks.

"Yeah, but you'll be covering them up with surgical mask."

"Juvia can do her hair."

"You have surgical cap."

Silence.

"Gajeel-kun! What should Juvia do? What if Gray-sama won't like Juvia?" she cried out, almost making Gajeel shrunk in embarrassment at the attention people had been giving them.

"That's not even my problem! Stop messing my mind with it!" Gajeel yelled back in agitation.

"Gajeel-kun can never understand women's desire to look good for the man she loves! Do you have any idea how long it takes for Levy-chan to make up before coming to work?" Juvia slammed the table softly.

"For the record, I don't care if she doesn't wear any make up," Gajeel grimaced.

"See! Gajeel-kun, you should appreciate Levy-chan's effort more! Be a bit more romantic!" Juvia exclaimed, folding her arms under her breasts as if she was giving a preach.

"Whatever! Aren't you suppose to care more about the patient instead of fawning over that cold freak or something?" Gajeel huffed, a little too uncomfortable talking about his relationship.

Juvia sighed. "Juvia knows. But she haven't even meet the patient." She was nervous to be honest. "But Gray-sama wanted to meet about this."

"Don't worry. It's a Live Performance. The patient must be really stable to ensure nothing goes wrong in the middle of the show," Gajeel shrugged. He should know. After all, he had been in a few Live Performances before as well. The patients are very stable that even a regular junior anesthetists can also do the surgery.

* * *

"Patient is Macao Conbolt. 42 years old with underlying dyslipidemia. He was diagnosed with ascending aortic arc aneurysm and annuloaortic ectasia. Planning for aortic valve replacement and aneurysm repair," Gray read the document out.

"I heard he was an old friend to that old Makarov," Natsu rested his hands behind his head, leaning his back on the sofa. "It looks like the aneurysm is already 5cm in size."

"Apparently," Gray gave the file to Juvia. "What do you think?"

Juvia took the file, briefly scanned the figures inside. "His situation is very stable. Juvia can put him under general anesthesia at ease. We won't need to hurry too."

"I thought so," Gray stretched his hands forward. "We have to meet this patient soon."

"What's your plan?" Natsu asked casually.

"I will take out the entire aortic arc and replace it with a prosthetic valve. Then proceed with Bentall procedure to replace the entire aorta. Of course, we need to counsel the patient with the need for lifelong warfarin therapy," Gray answered.

"In other words, we're going to do Total Arch and Bentall surgery," Natsu concluded.

"During the Total Arch procedure, to lessen the brain cell damage, we need to ensure deep hypothermia induced circulatory arrest and selective antegrade cerebral perfusion," Gray added. "Our medical engineer will be from Orthopedic department. Juvia, I'm sorry but you probably need to handle the coordination of the cardiac-lung machine as well."

"Juvia understood," Juvia nodded. "She will guide the medical engineer at that. How low does Gray-sama wants to set the blood temperature in the machine?"

"70 degrees Fahrenheit would be okay."

"It's a fairly difficult operation, but it doesn't need too much of experts though. You're probably fine with it alone," Natsu shrugged.

"You can do to secure my vision field," Gray chuckled. "Anyway, how was Wendy's training?"

"Someday I'm going to kill you," Natsu groaned. "Wendy is fine. She's improving bit by bit. At least she got the basic part of it. I'll increase the pace gradually."

* * *

Macao was reading a magazine when he heard a knock on his ward door. When the door opened, he saw Gray, Natsu and Juvia walking in. He put down the magazine and took Gray's hand in shake.

"Gray Fullbuster," Gray introduced himself. "I'll be the Head Surgeon for your operation. And this is my First Assistant Natsu Dragneel, and the Anesthetist Juvia Lockser."

"Oh yeah I heard," Macao laughed a bit. "Makarov had been boasting about your skill. I really wanted to experience it once too."

Gray raised his brows in surprise. "You're quite informed regarding the medical field."

"I'm a journalist," Macao picked up his magazine. "A medical magazine. There's a lot of hot young girls there, you know," he winked at the raven haired guy.

Gray grinned a bit. "That's quite an interesting reason to pick a career."

Macao laughed, joking more about how it was such a pleasure for a divorcee like him to feast his eyes with sexy young girls at his office.

Juvia blanched at the conversation and looked down at her dark blue fury coat. Oh no, Gray-sama likes sexy women. She wailed inside.

"Anyway, about your heart, since you'll be using a prosthetic valve, you will need a warfarin therapy to maintain your blood. You will have to constantly come to hospital for blood investigation every 3 months life long," Gray said after entertaining Macao's topic interest.

"I don't mind. I always hang around here anyway," Macao shrugged. "But I am quite an alcoholic, my blood isn't that thick. Would that be okay?"

"We'll try with Warfarin first," Natsu interrupted. "If it's too aggressive for you, we'll lower it down to Aspirin."

"I see," Macao grinned. "Youngsters nowadays are so enthusiastic. I'll be looking forward to this."

* * *

"If Gray-sama is doing the Total Arch procedure first, then Juvia will just put the patient's head down right? Does Gray-sama need Juvia to rotate the body to the right?" Juvia asked while walking by Gray's side, flipping the page of the heart surgery book. It had been two weeks since they discussed about Macao's surgery. Juvia had been hanging around Gray quite often to talk about it.

"Hmm," Gray was walking down the hospital park with his hands in his pocket. "Since I need to suture some part at the left subclavian artery, maybe a little rotation to the right would help."

Juvia bit her lips. "Then Juvia will rotate it when Gray-sama is suturing that part. Is that okay?"

"Yeah, that would be great," Gray smiled, taking out a hand to reach out patting Juvia's head softly.

Juvia giggled giddily. She loved it when she can be of some help for Gray. He had always been considerate with her, unlike some other surgeons she had been working with. Gray had already pulled back his hand when he saw a familiar figure at the park bench not too far from them. He frowned, and Juvia followed his eyes.

It was Wendy standing by the bench, with a practice sponge on the bench with multiple sutures on it. A needle holder in her hand and a forcep in another. Gray and Juvia knew she was practicing. They watched how Wendy clumsily poked the sponge with her needle, then tried to tie a surgical knot with it. She slipped a few times, then she sighed and threw the forceps and needle holder into the box.

"Wendy-chan," Juvia called out, approaching the blue haired girl with Gray following behind her.

Wendy looked back, her eyes were a bit down but liven up at the sight of the two. "Juvia-san, Gray-san," Wendy stuttered.

"You look demotivated," Gray said.

Wendy looked down to her practice sponge, filled with clumsy surgical knots that showed just how much of an amateur she was. "It's just so hard. The surgical knot that I tried just now, Natsu-kun can complete it in less than 30 seconds."

Juvia and Gray blinked, giving each other a knowing look. Wendy was still feeling insecure. Gray sighed, opening his mouth to knock some more sense into Wendy's mind. But before he can say anything, he felt Juvia's hand holding his arm softly. Juvia smiled at him. She knew Gray was kind at heart, but he wasn't very good at expressing it. Almost a little bit like Gajeel. At least she could try and do this for him.

"Natsu-san is a really outstanding surgeon, isn't he?" Juvia started then hugged Gray's arm tighter. "Even though Gray-sama is probably better."

Gray winced at that, though he won't deny the swell of his pride at that.

"How long have you been training with Natsu-san?" Juvia asked.

"Two weeks already," Wendy answered slowly. "We only have another four weeks until Evergreen's surgery."

"Don't worry, Wendy-san, you will definitely catch up soon," Juvia smiled warmly.

"Easy say than done," Wendy sighed. "You're very talented yourself too."

Juvia blushed. "Wendy-san thinks Juvia is talented?"

"You are capable of a lot of things," Wendy nodded.

Juvia stared at Wendy for a while. "But Wendy-san, do you know how many patients Juvia has killed to reach to this point?"

Wendy gasped at the bold statement, whisking her head to meet Juvia's eyes. Her eyes didn't even have a tinge of lying. Gray stared at Juvia as well. Of course, he had known this fact. But hearing it directly from Juvia like that somehow gave a different ring to it.

"You said you've been training for two weeks, and you can already at least tie a surgical knot properly. Have you ever asked Gray-sama or Natsu-san or Lucy-san how many years they took to reach this point?" Juvia asked back.

Wendy was still speechless at that. She never thought of that. Gray and Natsu probably had it rough too, but they were trained under great professors, does that makes her any different?

"Before you become a great surgeon, you have to be a great assistant, Wendy-san," Juvia's voice was soft, touching deeply into Wendy's soul. "We will be looking forward to you decision, Wendy-san."

Wendy clutched her hands onto her chest, feeling the hope filling her heart. Juvia smiled, then she waved, pulling Gray to leave the little girl alone. Wendy will be fine. She reassured herself.

Gray looked back at Wendy, seeing how she had already picked the needle holder again. Then he turned to Juvia."You said it pretty nicely there," Gray praised, a proud grin on his face.

Juvia hugged Gray's arm happily, skipping lightly as she pulled Gray into the hospital.

Gray chuckled. "Come on, I'll get you something to eat."

"Gray-sama is going to treat Juvia?" she made a surprised look.

"Yeah, it's on me. Anything particular that you want?"

* * *

Two weeks later, it was already the date for their Live Performance. Erza had left to Crocus General Hospital with Makarov. Jellal decided to go with Laxus, so the two had hopped in Laxus car early that morning to drive to Crocus. Macao was already pushed into the operation theatre. He changed into surgical dress and was put on a surgical cap.

Natsu, Gray and Juvia were already preparing themselves at the operation theatre. There was a screen connecting them to the Crocus General Hospital Conference Hall, and the surgical loops were attached with a camera to provide better view of the surgical field during the operation.

"Are you ready?" Gray asked as he looked down to Macao lying on the surgery table.

"Better than ever," Macao grinned, giving the young surgeon a thumbs up.

Gray nodded then turned to Juvia. "Let's go get ready."

Juvia nodded and followed Gray and Natsu out of the operation room. It was when they passed the scrubbing room that Gray's cellphone rang. He quickly fished it out of his pocket.

"Gray, we have a little problem," it was Cana.

"What is it?" Gray almost groaned in annoyance, but Cana's voice was a little bit different than usual.

"Evergreen Strauss," Cana informed. "She has difficulty in breathing."

"What?" Gray's eyes widened in shock. "Why?"

"The lungs probably cannot take it anymore. I've supported the breathing for a while but I don't think she can last too long. I need to intubate her," Cana's voice at the end of the line sounded breathless. Gray thought she must have had a hard time to stabilize Evergreen.

"No, Cana, you cannot intubate her! Her heart won't be able to take it!" Gray panicked a bit. "Prop her up, I'll be right there!" he turned to Natsu and Juvia. "Evergreen's situation changed. Come on, we need to hurry."

* * *

After injecting some drugs that can help Evergreen to breathe better, they watched how the pregnant lady's chest heaving in difficulty, and Natsu had to kick the wall lightly to vent his anger.

"Shit, it's just two more weeks from our target," Natsu grumbled. "Now what do we do? We have the Live Performance starting in a few more minutes."

Gray scratched his head roughly, his mind seeking a way out while Juvia just stood there quietly. She saw Gray dialing a number in his cellphone, putting it to his ears then took it down again while sighing.

"Contact Lucy, Levy and Wendy. We'll be doing Evergreen's operation now," Gray ordered.

Natsu frowned. "Are you crazy? What about the Live Performance?"

"I'll finish the Live Performance in one hour," Gray said, making Natsu frown harder.

"You are telling me that you're going to do a Total Arch and Bentall surgery in one hour?" Natsu fumed.

"Yes."

"That's crazy! No matter how fast you are, you would at least need two hours for that!" Natsu objected.

"There's no other way!" Gray countered. "I can't let Evergreen die here!"

Natsu stared at Gray in disbelief.

"Go get Wendy, Lucy and Levy," Gray said in a calmer voice. "I'll go talk to Macao about this." Gray was about to go back into Macao's operation room, but he paused then turned back to Juvia.

"One hour. Please trust me in this, Juvia. I can't do this without you," Gray's voice mixed with earnest and pleads.

Juvia would have said it was impossible. After all, it was a difficult surgery that needs a lot of attention. But it was Gray. They had only known each other for two months, but Gray had never did something to betray her trust.

And she smiled, confidently. "Juvia always trusts Gray-sama."

A relief smile formed on Gray's face. It was almost as if he was at the edge of deaths, but for some reason, Gray felt like everything wouldn't be impossible when Juvia was by his side. She just gave him this amount of confidence no one ever did. Nodding to the blue haired woman, Gray quickly left Evergreen's ward towards the operation room where Macao was. While his legs were almost running, his fingers were still dialing some numbers.

Time. He just needed a little more time.

* * *

**A/N:** A super fast update becoz I still dislike the previous chappie despite you guys telling me its good, LOL. XD By the way, I can only add in some vague Gruvia moments at the time being becoz I have another important character to introduce. Right now, before this character appear, Gruvia feelings towards each other are still oblivious. Gray was just attracted to her skills, and Juvia was just fangirling over the fact that Gray is Ul's student. They're still in the process to know each other. So, anyone wanna guess who's that character I'm talking about? That character will appear so soon. ;)

And thanks again for those who supported me with this; **ProjXPsyClone, Medaka-chan, TheLittleKittyMeows, elle003, gruvialover, superduperizee, Weeirdinwonderland **and **imahappyperson.**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N:** Oh yeah, I only tagged Jerza in this fic at Chapter 6 becoz that was when I realized that Jerza actually had more development in this story compared to NaLu and GaLe. Initially I wanted to tag NaLu but I realized they won't be featured much and I don't wanna be misleading. And well, I love the trust Gray and Juvia had in the manga, that's why I tried to portray it here in this fic. I feel like they have this relationship that works both ways - give and take. They protected each other, and be protected in return. They trust each other, and be trusted in return too. It's what a relationship is all about. Of course, not all relationships are the same, which makes all relationships unique. But I think it's one of the reason why Gruvia is one of the popular pairing in Fairy Tail I guess.

* * *

**Chapter 10**

* * *

****Erza looked around, recognizing some of the guest professors that were starting to fill the Crocus General Hospital Conference Hall. The huge screen was already pulled down from above, giving access to every corner of the hall to see. She took a quick look at the nearby mirror to make sure she was presentable. She was wearing a red sleeveless maxi dress with a black heels. Her hair was tied up in a bun, leaving her long neck visible. She smiled, satisfied with her own attire.

She looked around again. It seems like Jellal and Laxus haven't arrive yet. Since she came with Makarov, she was a little bit earlier. Some of the vice professors are already there too.

"Oh, look who we got here. The little red riding hood."

Erza turned around upon hearing the unfriendly greeting. She squinted at the black long haired woman with a pair of bun shaped loop standing behind her. "Minerva. What are you doing here?"

Minerva laughed, enjoying the uncomfortable expression the scarlet haired woman gave her. "This is a professor conference. My dad is a professor, remember?"

Erza didn't really like Minerva. She was one of the vice professors in the Crocus General Hospital, even though there had been strange rumors about her using her dad's power to rise. Some people said she didn't though. Either way she was a cunning woman. Erza knew better than to mingle with the likes of her.

"Oh look," Minerva faked a gasp as she flipped the brochure of the conference. "You're running for the professor election. I wonder who would want to nominate you," she laughed.

Erza gritted her teeth at that.

"I would want to nominate Erza Scarlet," a voice interrupted, successfully cooling down Erza's rising temper.

Minerva squinted at the figure behind them. "Professor Igneel."

Erza wanted to bow at the famous vascular surgeon who had carved a lot of useful research in his field, but Igneel had quickly raised his hand to prevent her.

"I think I would gain more fame and respect if I was able to nominate someone useful," Igneel grinned.

Minerva scoffed. "What's so useful about this bitch anyway?"

"At least she's more useful than you," Metallicana interrupted with a scowl. He wasn't one to be very polite with people he didn't like. "Speaking of which, it had been long since our team can assemble like this. Where's Skiadrum and Weisslogia?"

Igneel scoffed. "Just admit that you missed me."

"I do not!" Metallicana rolled his eyes in annoyance.

A soft looking woman with long pink hair reaching her waist approached them while slowly shaking her head. "Men. Why do they all have to be egoistic?" she clicked her tongue as she looked around. "Skiadrum and Weisslogia probably went off to greet Sting and Rogue. We're in Crocus after all."

Erza's eyes widened at the sight. It was Grandeeney. She was wearing her usual white fur around her neck, and she looked very pleasant. It was the first time Erza saw her. Of course, she had heard about their Dragon Team, consisting Igneel, Metallicana, Skiadrum, Weisslogia and Grandeeney. But Grandeeney was a bit more reserved compared to the other four. Rumors said that she was as kind as Weisslogia, if not more.

"Gentlemen, ladies, I hereby thank you for the time attending this conference. Please be seated. We will begin soon," Makarov's voice filled the hall.

Erza quickly excused herself at that, taking out her cellphone to dial Jellal's number. If they didn't hurry, they're going to be late.

* * *

"Shit," Laxus hit the steering. "Why does it have to be heavy traffic at this time?"

Jellal watched the congestion that stuck them between hundreds of cars. He leaned to the window, propping his hand on it leisurely.

"Can't you show some nervousness once in a while? We're going to be late for your nomination here," Laxus complained, drumming his fingers on the board of the unmoving car.

Jellal chuckled. "Will the nervousness help to speed up the congestion?"

"I hate you."

Jellal wanted to say something, but stopped when he heard his cellphone ringing.

"Must be your wife calling," Laxus wiggled his brows teasingly. "Must be worried sick of her lovely husband being late, probably having some affair or something."

Jellal scorned. "I'm not married, and I'm not having any affairs. Unless being with you considered sexual."

Laxus sneered. "That is so gay."

Jellal picked the call, didn't even bother to look at the caller's name.

"Jellal!"

Jellal frowned. "Cana?"

"Listen, I just been called to Evergreen's ward, apparently her condition worsening. Gray's team is preparing to operate on her now. But she's still breathless. I need your order to administer some drugs here. You know as a medical assistant, I don't have the power to it unless you give me orders," Cana said, almost holding her own breath.

"Fullbuster is going to operate on Evergreen now?" Jellal looked at Laxus who looked equally surprised. "What happened to the Live Performance?"

"Gray said he'll complete it in one hour."

"What?" Laxus spat as he overheard the information. "There is no way in hell he could complete that in one hour!"

"I don't know, but he asked us to trust him. Jellal, I need the order, now!"

Jellal stared to the hundreds of cars congesting the road. What was Gray thinking? Macao's surgery wasn't one that can be done in that short amount of time. Heck, any heart surgeries would need at least two hours for the surgeon.

"Jellal!" Cana's voice pulled him back.

"Cana, go and retrieve the emergency drugs. Hold her until I arrive," Jellal finally said. "I'll be right there."

"What?" Cana almost gasped. "The fuck, Jellal! Don't you dare come back! You have your future awaiting you at Crocus. Go forward!"

"I'll be right there," Jellal turned to Laxus. "Drop me here, Laxus."

"Damn it, Jellal! Why the hell do you think I went through all those shitty courses? I've been working my fucking ass to live up for your dream, shit! If you come back, I swear I'm gonna kick your little ass. I said don't come back! I can handle this! You need to get nominated. You _must _get nominated! Go grab your future. _Our_ future, damn it!"

Only Cana had the guts to scold and curse her superior like that alright. Laxus rolled his eyes. That's because Jellal is just too soft.

"Cana." Jellal's voice was low but firm, quieting Cana in an instant. "My dream, right now, is right in front of you."

It was then that Cana calmed down. Even though deep down, the rage was still sparkling lightly.

"I'll be right there," Jellal said again, and this time, Cana didn't oppose. Jellal was about to ask Laxus to drop him when Laxus suddenly turned the steering and made a U-turn. Frowning, Jellal gave Laxus a questioning look.

"That conference will be boring without you anyway," Laxus grinned cheekily. "Besides, it looks like there will be something interesting happening in Magnolia. I ain't gonna miss that. I'm going with you."

* * *

Gray had quickly took his position at Macao's right side. Natsu stood the opposite of him. Macao was already put to sleep by Juvia, and the scrub nurse was just done draping him, leaving only the operation site exposed. Juvia positioned Macao's head in a more comfortable manner.

But just as Juvia took her position at Macao's head, a few staff brought in a huge TV on a trolley, the screen connecting them to the Crocus General Hospital Conference Hall. They pushed the TV, looking around wondering where was the best spot to place it when they finally decided it was better to put at the patient's head. The staff quickly pushed it towards Macao's head, and Juvia reluctantly stepped aside.

Patient's head was anesthetist position in surgeries, alright. It was where all the lines for monitors and injecting drugs are there, and the place where they can clearly observe and protect the patient's breathing. But being shoved away like that had put her at lost. She sighed dejectedly, trying to say something but the words just won't come out.

Gray was telling something about the cutting site to Natsu and the second assistant when he noticed Juvia shifting uncomfortably. And that was when he noticed Juvia was standing quite far from him. Instead, the huge TV was place right at Macao's head. He could see the entire conference hall from it clearly. He recognized Igneel and Metallicana. And then he saw someone he really didn't expect right next to Metallicana.

Ul.

She was sitting and smiling, propping his chin on the table. Gray blanched. Shit. Why was she here? He thought she said she couldn't make it. Gray wanted to complain how she had put him in so much trouble by just being there without informing, but he realized Juvia was still standing quite far.

"Oi, you," Gray called the staff. "Remove this TV somewhere else."

The staff blinked. "But that's the best spot for everyone to see."

Gray snarled. "Put it somewhere else! Where do you want the anesthetist to stand? Outside the operation room?"

The staff was taken aback at Gray's sudden outburst, but quickly complied and pushed the TV at another corner. Gray heard Makarov's voice from the TV, saying they were starting and some other introduction he didn't even bother to listen. He turned to Juvia, nodding at her to come closer. Juvia carefully took back her position, standing at Macao's head, adjusting some things that she noted were displaced when they pushed the TV in.

"You should have claim that spot from them," Gray frowned at her. "It's yours, be a little more possessive about it."

Juvia bit her lower lip. "Sorry."

"It's okay," Gray shook his head then turned to Natsu and his second assistant, giving a sign that they are going to start. "We will now begin the surgery of Total Arch and Bentall procedure," he held out a hand to the scrub nurse. "Scalpel. Forceps."

The scrub nurse reached for a scalpel and forceps and gave it to Gray.

Natsu reached his hands towards the scrub nurse too. "Gauze. Diathermy." Quickly catching up with Gray right after he was handed the items in both hands, the surgery for Macao finally started.

The conference hall had been bustling with whispers between the audience, probably talking about the personals that were selected in this surgery. But they were all obviously engulfed in it too.

Makarov took the microphone and asked. "Dr Fullbuster, what is your target time frame for today's surgery?"

Gray's hands were working to cut the chest as he answered. "One hour."

The conference hall became louder at the answer, mostly gasping in disbelief at the fact that he was attempting a Total Arch and Bentall surgery in one hour, which by logic was not even possible.

"One hour?" Makarov asked as if he couldn't believe his ears.

"Yes," Gray said, handing back the scalpel and asked for a harmonic to the scrub nurse then quickly resumed his work. "If you have any questions, you better ask now."

Ul who was sitting idly beside Metallicana's seat finally straightened herself a bit. "That boy," she scoffed. "He's rash as usual."

"That aside, when did you came back, Ul?" Igneel asked.

"Are you kidding me?" Ul laughed. "My boy is showing off his skills, I have to watch no matter what."

Erza was sitting at the front row, staring up at the huge screen. What the hell, why was Gray in a hurry? She frowned at his answer. Then her eyes wandered around the hall. Where is Jellal and Laxus? She couldn't reach them by phone. Each time she dialed, it reached the voice mail. Erza bit her lower lip. Something is wrong that she doesn't know. And she doesn't like it.

* * *

Jellal rushed towards Evergreen, who was still breathless under the mask they had given her. Jellal quickly discard his suit, tucked up his sleeves as he turned to Cana. "How's her condition?"

Cana was busy doing something at Evergreen's lines but she had the reluctant face obviously plastered. "You do realized you just threw away your dreams your worked for years right?" she sighed. It was true. Jellal had put so much effort to become a professor. He had travelled to all hospitals just to seek for experts who can help him increase his success rate, he had spent hundreds or dollars sending his underlings to courses, he had everything – just to be nominated this day. And with all those efforts, he just let the conference go.

"Let's not talk about it now, we need to buy some time for Fullbuster," Jellal took a few injections and prepared some emergency drugs. Laxus had joined to help too.

Evergreen shifted uncomfortably, her head was propped up a bit to relief the breathing but it didn't help much. She was struggling to take a breath, but her lips were moving, as if she was mumbling something. Jellal, Laxus and Cana scooted closer to listen.

"My baby…"

Jellal stared at the pregnant woman. For a second, the tough exterior she had put up all this time was crumbled. She looked fragile, and Jellal felt as if she was going to break anytime soon.

"Cana, go and take Dexamethasone drug. We need to inject it to help the baby's lungs mature a little more," Jellal ordered. Cana quickly obeyed.

Laxus turned to the nurses. "Bring out the stretcher. We'll stabilize her in operation room. Call Gray and tell him we already prepared her there. He just need to come and do the surgery later."

The nurses complied as each of them started to scramble to do their assigned tasks.

* * *

Gray had opened the chest and made the beating heart visible, putting a self retractor to hold the chest open. "Pliers," he requested and the scrub nurse quickly reached for the item and handed it to Gray.

"Suction," it was Natsu's turn to request and the scrub nurse quickly put the requested item on his hand.

There were a few questions asked from the professors about the heart cells and the aortic valve replacement, and Gray had answered them while his hands are working, entertaining the higher ups about what he had in mind.

"Bed adjustment," Juvia said, pushing a button in her hand. "Head down, rotation to the right." She then turned to the medical engineer. "How much is the temperature in the machine now?"

"80 degrees Fahrenheit, Dr Lockser," the medical engineer answered.

"After Gray-sama connected the heart to the machine, reduce the temperature to 70 degrees then stop the circulation immediately. Don't get left behind," Juvia ordered.

"Okay!"

"Hmm," Ul watched the surgery intently, then her eyes darted down to her pamphlet, reading the lineups of the surgery team. Her eyes particularly read the information about Juvia. "Juvia Lockser. I never heard of her. Metallicana, did you know her?" she asked the famous anesthetist professor sitting by her side.

"She's Gajeel's best friend," Metallicana shrugged. "He won't admit though, but I know him like the back of my hand, so yeah."

Ul looked back at the screen. "She's good. She catch up with Gray quite fast, and very attentive too."

Metallicana looked at Juvia. "Is that so? If you ask me, Gray is having a hard time catching up with her too," he chuckled. "Juvia is clearly speeding the surgery, and Gray had to catch up with the time he is connecting to the machine before the temperature goes down. It goes both ways for the two of them."

"Hmm," Ul smiled knowingly, propping her chin back on the table. "That brat has gotten himself a very interesting girl."

Gray's hands were fast, connecting the tubes of the machine to the blood vessels. His hands were suturing fast, thanks to Juvia's assistance at providing him a better view with the table rotation. Finally filling some sterile fluid into the tubes, the heart was connected perfectly.

Juvia turned to the medical engineer. "Pump on. Now."

"Okay," the medical engineer quickly did as ordered, turning a button to pump the machine on.

"Alright, external circulation begun," Gray nodded. "Next is the Total Arch and Bentall procedure."

"But Total Arch and Bentall procedure would need at least another two or three hours," the second assistant interrupted. "And it has already been 50 minutes from your target time."

"No," Gray stepped back, taking off his surgical gloves and loops. "I'm done here."

The conference hall once again bustling with gasps and whispers. "What do you mean? The surgery is nowhere near done."

Gray looked up at them. "Who said I'm going to be the head surgeon until the end?"

It was then that the door opened, and a figure of Gray's height walked in, completely in a sterile costume, ready to join the surgery. All eyes fixed on the new guy before turning back to Gray questioningly.

"Change of Head Surgeon," Gray announced. "The next Head Surgeon will be the guest vice professor from the St Vincent Hospital, Dublin, Ireland, Lyon Vastia," he introduced. "He just arrived as I called him here. Of course, the patient, Macao Conbolt was already consented for changing the Head Surgeon before the surgery."

Juvia's head shot up to the man who just came in. Her eyes widened, almost couldn't believe her eyes. Lyon Vastia was standing right in front of her? She could feel herself frozen in her spot, as Lyon made his way towards Gray.

Ul sat up. "Lyon?"

Igneel laughed. "Your students are pulling out a prank on us, Ul!"

Ul glared at them. "Don't lump me in their selfish pranks. I've got nothing to do with this."

"I see," Grandeeney placed a finger on her chin in a thinking pose. "So what he meants by one hour is about changing the head surgeon."

"But I'm surprised, why did they do that?" Weisslogia interrupted. "There must be a reason behind it."

Lyon smiled at Gray, urging him to step aside so he could walk in. "The show you did was all about connecting the heart to the machine. It was an easy task, but you did it in 50 minutes. I'll give you a passing mark."

Gray groaned as he stepped back. "Don't get so full of yourself. That wasn't even my full speed."

Lyon laughed as he took his spot, turning towards Juvia who was still staring at him with awe. "I've been admiring the work of this fine lady for a while. But sorry, Miss Lockser. Since I'm taking over, this surgery is no longer the battlefield for the vice professors. I demand the change for the whole team."

And then the door opened again, and a few personals came walking in as they took their respective spots. Juvia almost cowered when a tall muscular man with beard approached her, smiling and bowed a bit.

_Jura Neekis_. Juvia had heard of him. The anesthetist who rivaled the knowledge of the professors. It was the first time Juvia met him. Heck, it was the first time she ever met Lyon's whole team, and she was already overwhelmed by the members themselves.

Yuka went up to the cardiac-lung machine, giving a sign to the medical engineer that he was taking over. Sherry took her place as the scrub nurse, and Toby took the place as the second assistant.

"Excuse me," a voice called up to Natsu. Natsu turned to see a petite pink haired girl behind him. "We're taking over, Natsu-san," she said with a polite smile.

"Chelia, Total Arch procedure would need a lot of micro-suturing. Prepare your surgical loop," Lyon said.

Chelia nodded happily as she asked the nurse to get her one. Natsu stepped back, letting the pink haired girl took over his position as the first assistant.

Lyon glanced back at Gray. "Go. You have another life waiting for you, right?"

Gray nodded at his fellow disciple, then turned to Juvia and Natsu, giving a sign they need to hurry. "Jellal's team already prepared the operation room. Let's head there."

* * *

**A/N:** Yay, it was Lyon! It was fairly an easy question, hehe. And with this, all the important characters are finally introduced. I feel so relieved to reach this point of the story. It took me 10 chapters, I can't believe myself. Anyway, about the 'Dragon Team', I don't even know how to describe their appearance since they are dragons in the Fairy Tail universe. I'll leave their human form to your imagination. I described Grandeeney like Porlyusica though, with a fury shawl around her neck becoz Grandeeney had that fur around her neck in her dragon form. Anyway, here's the list for Lyon's team, in case if it was confusing in the story. They're basically consist of Lamia Scale guild members:

Head Surgeon: Lyon  
First Assistant: Chelia  
Second Assistant: Toby  
Scrub Nurse: Sherry  
Anesthetist: Jura  
Medical Engineer: Yuka

And thanks again to everyone who had gave me courage to continue this fic, thank you for the reviews and inputs; **ProjXPsyClone, Medaka-chan, TheLittleKittyMeows, dorac, elle003, SeptemberGurl, IndigoHailstorm, QuirkyyMist, Weeirdinwonderland, gruvialover, superduperizee, Shadow Mystery, mgaa, Ajerzaaddict** and **Mango**.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N:** Haha, I think the reason why Juvia was awestruck when Lyon appeared is because it was such a rare opportunity to meet someone like him. I am implying Lyon as the vice professor from a hospital from overseas, and then he appeared in front of her, and he was one of Ul's well-known student. It's like, let's imagine we are not from Japan, then suddenly we meet Mashima appearing in front of us. It's not that we're in love with him, but it's just such a wonderful experience. Something like that. Here's a confession. My most favorite characters in Fairy Tail are Juvia and Jellal. My OTPs are Jerza and Gruvia. And my favorite BroTP are JuviaxGajeel and LaxusxJellal. Obvious? LOL.

* * *

**Chapter 11**

* * *

By the time their team reached Evergreen's operation room, Jellal, Laxus and Cana was already stabilizing Evergreen, even though she was still breathless, but she looked a bit better. Jellal gave permission to Juvia to go and scrub while he hold Evergreen longer.

After scrubbing themselves and changed into sterile suits, Natsu, Lucy, Gray, Juvia and Wendy walked in and took their respective positions. Natsu turned to his partner. "Lucy, you're going to switch from C Section with me to Gray's heart surgery. Are you ready?"

"Of course," Lucy nodded, already spreading all the instruments she prepared on the sterile tray. "I'll re-scrub when Juvia is changing from spinal to general anesthesia."

"Juvia's general anesthesia is fast. She won't wait for you," Juvia said, pulling her sterile drug tray. "Just saying," she shrugged.

Lucy chuckled nervously. "Yes. I figured you're fast when we first met." Of course she did. Juvia had brought the baby back in exactly ten minutes as she had promised back then. Lucy wasn't a doctor. But she had observed a lot of surgeries enough to comprehend the skill of a doctor. It was just something that a nurse would have. "But you don't have to wait. I will definitely catch up with you."

Levy cleared her throat. "Are you two not getting along well?"

"Not really," Juvia shook her head. "We just didn't talk much."

"Cut off with the girls talk, we're running out of time," Gray interrupted them.

"Yes, Gray-sama!" Juvia cheered, turning to Evergreen with a smile. "Don't worry, Evergreen-san, we will save you." Juvia then took her position and sterilize Evergreen's back.

After locating the spine, she poked the needle in gently. "Spinal anesthesia is starting," Juvia pushed in the drug.

"Let's go, Wendy," Natsu took the sterile cloths from Lucy and started to help her draping Evergreen.

Wendy bit her lower lip, hesitating a bit before nodding.

Lucy frowned at the little apprehensive girl, putting a stabilizer on her sterile tray a little hard in front of Natsu. "Is she really going to be okay?" she whispered.

Natsu smirked at Lucy. "Just wait and see."

Juvia had positioned Evergreen back to lying, peeking at the monitors to make sure the heart was okay when she saw the scene unfold. She smiled at Wendy, hoping to will away her nervousness. "If you are still hesitant about it, then listen to the patient's voice."

Wendy looked up to Evergreen. She had her eyes closed, breathing heavily as if the mask they gave had not enough oxygen for her. Maybe it really wasn't enough. Wendy wasn't sure. She never suffered that much herself anyway. Biting her lips, she nodded slowly before positioning herself opposite to Natsu. Juvia's hands already busy injecting some drugs when the monitors beeping indicating the heart starting to drop.

They didn't have much time. Natsu nodded to Juvia. "We will now begin the Ceasarean Section procedure," he announced. Jellal took a sterile cloth, ready to accept the baby with Cana by his side. "Scalpel," Natsu grabbed the scalpel that was already on his hand.

Natsu and Lucy worked very well, probably because they are used to each other. Despite Natsu mentioning the items he wanted, the items were already in his hands by the time he said it. It was as if Lucy was reading his mind. Natsu was probably just saying it out of habit. Or protocol?

Wendy's hands were following what she had practiced, assisting Natsu in her best way to speed the surgery. She didn't really have to ask anything from Lucy, since she already get the item before she even ask for it. But Gray, Juvia and Levy could see how hard she worked to memorize the steps this well.

It took them 13 minutes – less than 15 minutes, as Natsu promised. The baby was out, crying healthily, loudly, but it was probably the best music Evergreen had ever listened. Wendy quickly cut the cord, wiped the baby clean then handed the baby to Jellal.

Jellal brought the baby to Evergreen, letting her see the baby she had carried for 32 weeks. "It is a healthy baby boy," he announced to her.

Evergreen looked at the small bundle in Jellal's hands. The baby was crying, struggling as if he was lost. And at that very moment, a lone tear dropped down her cheek.

She hadn't cried for so long. No, she couldn't even remember when was the last time she cried. Evergreen wasn't the soft sensitive type anyway. But just seeing the little boy alive, she wasn't sure why but nothing in the world matters anymore. Nothing but this little bundle of joy she brought to the world herself. And she cried. She cried her heart out as she kissed the chubby cheek of the baby.

Wendy was stunned when she saw the tears. She was new in this field, she knew. But she had never seen someone looking so happy, so relieved of something she had been working for weeks. Then she remembered Juvia's words. _If you are still hesitant about it, then listen to the patient's voice._

And the memories of her encounter with Evergreen played in her mind.

_Even if I had to die, I really want to hug this child._

_Even if it's just one minute will do._

If I can just see this baby born, I thought living with this disease would be all worth it.

"Evergreen-san," Wendy blurted out unexpectedly, making all eyes turned to her, a little surprised with her firm voice contrary to the timorous one she always had. "Please hold on. This is just the beginning. You don't want this baby to feel the pain of losing his mother, do you?"

"Wendy-san?" Juvia stared at the intern.

"Your husband is waiting for you too," Wendy continued, her eyes filled with confidence as she looked into Evergreen's eyes. "We will definitely let you hold your baby. So please be strong."

Evergreen was heaving steadily as she stared back into Wendy's brown orbs. Those eyes that reflected hope, boring into hers, washed her with courage. She smiled, with a soft look as if thanking Wendy for the small effort she did. Gray, Natsu, Lucy and Levy had to smile proudly at her confident demeanor. It was an improvement for her insecurity.

"Her heart is starting to crash," Juvia informed, her hands busy injecting more drugs when she noticed the blood pressure coming down.

"Let's continue," Gray said, putting on his sterile glove.

Evergreen took one last glance to her baby before Jellal brought the baby out to the resuscitation room. Juvia smiled down at her.

"Juvia will see you later, Evergreen-san," Juvia injected another drugs, and just a few minutes later, Evergreen was put to sleep.

"We will now begin the surgery for pregnancy-induced cardiac myopathy," Gray hold out his hands, grabbing the tools from Lucy.

Natsu and Wendy who had just scrubbed again with Lucy after the C Section quickly joined, assisting Gray to open the heart. Gray's hands were fast, he was aware enough of the beeping monitor beside Juvia. Just as he opened the chest, he put on a self retractor, then cut a way to connect the heart to the machine. Wendy had already prepared the connection, while Natsu dilated the vessels with a tool. By the time Gray was ready, the sterile tubes were already filled with fluid, and Gray quickly connected them.

"Pumping on," Levy turned the button just after they connected them perfectly, and Evergreen's blood flowed into the machine, creating an external circulation in the machine itself.

"Bed adjustment," Juvia pushed the button, turning the table Evergreen was lying slightly towards the right. "Head down, rotation to the right."

"Juvia, how was the heart?" Gray asked.

"Crashed down to 50 systolic, but reversible with ephedrine," Juvia said. "Leave the lungs and heart to Juvia. Gray-sama just concentrate on the surgery."

Wendy peeked into the opening of the chest. "The heart is so big."

"Yeah."

"Credits to Jellal, Laxus and Cana for holding it this long," Natsu looked in awe too.

"Alright. Let's start with the repair. We'll be doing this while the heart is beating," Gray nodded to Juvia.

"Juvia is injecting the beta blocker now," Juvia informed, her fingers pushing in the said drug.

"Whoa, the heart is slowing down," Natsu exclaimed excitedly as he watched.

"Wendy, pay attention at all part of the heart. The diseased part will slow down faster than the others," Gray told his intern.

The heart was gradually beating slowly since Juvia injected the drug. Gray watched, carefully running a finger along the heart, feeling the beating heart on his own.

"Over here," Gray pressed a bit harder at a point. "Natsu, Wendy, confirm it for me."

Natsu reached out to the point that Gray had touched, feeling the texture under his own finger. Indeed, the beating rhythm was different compared to the other areas. Wendy felt it after Natsu, even though her part was more of a training than confirming since it was her first time assisting such a surgery.

"Alright, we will cut the diseased area," Gray said after Natsu nodded at him. "Scalpel," he grabbed the tool Lucy handed to him.

* * *

Lyon's hand were moving steadily, opening the heart to reach the aortic valve. "From the heart opening, the valve can be seen, and the damaged tissue surrounding the area will be apparent when the heart is still beating. Since we will replace the whole aortic valve, we will also cut away the damaged area and replace it with expanded synthetic valve," Lyon explained to the audience while his hands were working.

There were gasps of awe filled the conference hall. Some professors were impressed at how he managed to localize the damaged tissue around it and carefully trimmed it out from the heart.

"Your student is good, Ul," Skiadrum praised.

"Huh?" Ul blinked incredulously. "Oh, that. That was his research. A revolutionary new technique of repairing cardiac muscle valve. He's just lucky to get something of his own expertise."

Igneel laughed. "That's just so like you. You should loosen up and praise your boys once in a while, Ul."

"Oh please, I always praise them," Ul rolled her eyes.

"Like when?" Igneel teased.

"I always say they're cute and adorable," Ul went on.

The Dragon Team stared at her. Skiadrum chuckled at that. "Those aren't even a praise for a doctor."

"Lyon isn't the only one," Grandeeney said. "The first assistant is quite thorough too. And the anesthetist," Grandeeney looked amused. "He's like communicating with Lyon through the patient's heart. They're working in a harmonious melody."

"Jura Neekis," Metallicana folded his arms on his chest. "His talent is well known in anesthetist world. It's an honor to watch him live actually."

* * *

Jellal, Laxus and Cana were crowding the baby boy on the warmer, giving a fast screening to the newborn. Laxus had his stethoscope and listened to the lungs.

"He's breathing quite fine," Jellal said, smiling gently to the innocently blinking baby. He was cute.

"He looks like Elfman," Cana said while playing with the baby's small hands.

"Not really," Jellal disagreed. "He looks like Evergreen, but with Elfman's hair. His eyes are definitely Evergreen's."

"Really?" Cana looked at the baby carefully. Then she squinted. "Hmm? Jellal, don't you think the baby is a bit blue?"

"Fine, if you think he looks like Elfman, then that subjected to your own opinion," Jellal rolled his eyes.

"No, no!" Cana tugged on Jellal's rolled up sleeves. "The lips are definitely blue!" Cana pointed to the baby's bluish lips.

Laxus was concentrating on his stethoscope since just now. Suddenly his eyes snapped open, taking the stethoscope off and looked up to Jellal. "Jellal, there's murmur sound from the heart!"

Jellal frowned, looking down to the baby's fingers that had started to turn bluish. "Cana, get the ultrasound machine!"

Cana ran to get the requested machine while Jellal and Laxus started to attach some wires on the baby's body.

"The saturation is dropping down," Jellal snatched the oxygen to provide breathing support. Cana had already turned the machine on, and Jellal took the probe.

"Jellal," Laxus scrunched his face. "That's..."

"Yeah," Jellal stared at the images in the machine. "Transposition of Great Arteries."

"What?" Cana widened her eyes. "The rare congenital heart disease?"

"It's fatal. The body won't get any oxygen if this goes on," Jellal put away the probe. "Cana, go and inform Gray about it. I'll go talk to Elfman."

"Leave the baby to me," Laxus picked a mask nearby then turned to a nurse. "Get me some prostaglandin!"

* * *

Elfman was pacing nervously at the waiting area, occasionally groaning at the anxiety he was feeling. Mirajane and Lisanna had just came when they heard Evergreen's condition worsened. But they hadn't really know the details yet. They instinctively stood up when they saw Jellal walked out of the operation theatre.

"How's Ever?" Elfman asked scurriedly.

Jellal took a deep breath before starting. "Right now, Fullbuster is still operating on her. But she's already connected to the external circulation so she's pretty much okay now."

Elfman, Lisanna and Mirajane let out a sigh of relief at that, then Elfman braced himself again. "What about the baby?"

Jellal smiled a bit. "Yeah, congratulations, you got a baby boy."

"Boy!" Lisanna cheered. "I have a nephew!"

"But," Jellal continued. "I'm sorry, he apparently got a very rare congenital heart disease."

"What?"

"It's called Transposition of Great Arteries. The arteries at the heart were displaced. Normally blood from the heart will pump to the lungs to take oxygen then go back to the heart and pump the oxygen to the whole body. Unfortunately because the arteries are displaced, the circulation of the body and lungs are separated, thus unable the blood to transport the oxygen from the lungs to the body," Jellal explained.

"No way," Elfman paled. "Is he gonna die?" he felt his heart clenching.

Mirajane looked up to Jellal's eyes. "He needs to be operated at once, isn't he?" she guessed.

Jellal nodded. "I am here to ask for permission."

"Is it okay to operate on a newborn?" Elfman quivered. "Is it safe?"

"Of course, the anesthesia would be a little tricky," Jellal admitted. "But if you agree, I can call one of my best anesthetist to ensure no brain injury for him."

Mirajane looked at his conflicted brother. "Elfman, if we don't allow them, the baby will die. He won't get any oxygen even if he's breathing well. Right now he's barely surviving through the septal defect."

* * *

Gray already cut the disease part of the heart. Juvia had managed to stabilize Evergreen's condition, so they were no longer in a hurry. Levy took care of the circulation quite well. Gray was just announcing that they will close the heart and proceed with the bypass when Cana came into the room. Her terrified expression was enough to alarm Gray of what was coming.

"The baby," Cana was almost panting. "He has a TGA."

Their eyes widened. "What?"

"He needs an urgent surgery," Cana informed.

Gray won't deny Cana's judgment. Because even though her drinking habit wasn't convincing, she was still a knowledgeable medical assistant that can be fully trusted. Plus Jellal and Laxus were with her. They were excellent doctors. There was no way their diagnosis can be wrong. But they are not in the position to end Evergreen's surgery. Gray tightened his hold on his needle holder.

"But we are just starting to do the bypass," Natsu said, troubled. "We don't have enough people to do another surgery."

"If we could at least have another one person to help Natsu do the bypass, I can go and do the baby's surgery," Gray said hopingly, his mind was searching a suitable doctor. Maybe Romeo can?

"If you're talking about bypass, isn't that our expertise, Natsu?" Laxus stepped in with Jellal behind him.

"Laxus," Natsu squinted.

"I already consented the father," Jellal said. "Laxus will join Evergreen's surgery to do the bypass. You should hurry, Fullbuster."

"But who's going to assist Gray-sama? And what about the anesthetist?" Juvia asked. She can't leave Evergreen, this surgery depended on her since the beginning.

"I'll be Fullbuster's assistant," Jellal offered. "You just need one assistant right?"

Gray stared at Jellal for a while before nodding. "Yeah, you will do. What about the anesthetist."

"Gajeel's on the way."

* * *

**A/N:** Sorry, this chapter is more of action than anything. They'll finish all the dramas by next chapter and then this story will speed up to the next level. That's when all the relationships get folded. And don't scold me for not letting the Strauss have their happiness. LOL. Don't worry, I love happy endings. *wink*

I'm very happy to receive any constructive criticisms, so please do go ahead and tell me if you have one. Becoz I honestly feel like I need to improve a lot in this fic. Thanks to those who reviewed; **Medaka-chan, ProjXPsyClone, imahappyperson, TheLittleKittyMeows, Shadow Mystery, Weeirdinwonderland, elle003, WalisTambo, gruvialover, Yukari Hiwada, Sabaku no Sandra, Ash Dys, dorac, superduperizee **and the **unnamed Guest.** They really mean a lot. :3


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N:** *o* Are you sure I can't kill? LOL I'm quite new in Gruvia fandom, so you probably don't know, but in my previous fandoms, I write quite a lot of angst. And to be honest, I _can_ kill. I just don't wanna do it here. XD Btw, Jellal was too happy imagining his own future baby, he forgot about the APGAR score. LOL Just kidding. To be honest though, most of TGA babies with VSD have 9/10 APGAR score. Some even remain alive with no symptoms up to a few months of life, giving option to an elective surgery instead of emergency one. Becoz the VSD provide a shunt that exchange the blood from the left heart to right heart, thus giving slight oxygen to the baby. But when this VSD is starting to close, it will start to show the symptoms. A pure TGA without VSD though, will have a poor APGAR score, and require even more immediate surgery. I made Evergreen's baby had TGA with moderate VSD, mainly becoz I want the baby to be operated immediately, but did not show an immediate effect becoz I want Evergreen to see her baby first. If the APGAR score was poor, doctors don't even bother to show the baby to the mother becoz every seconds are precious in life saving. Dramas, you know. We create scenarios that we want, LOL. Real life would be more cruel if you ask me. Some TGA babies can't even be operated due to anatomical reason, and had to be left just as it is. In other words, being left dying. :( The good thing is, TGA is extremely rare. :)

* * *

**Chapter 12**

* * *

When Laxus finished scrubbing and changed into the sterile outfit, Natsu took over Gray's place as the Head Surgeon. Laxus walked in and took the First Assistant place, grabbing the tools needed from Lucy.

Looking up to Natsu, Laxus raised a brow. "I'm the assistant?" It wasn't really a question. It was more of a sarcasm of how Natsu putting his vice professor as his assistant. Laxus wasn't really that appalled to the idea though.

Natsu stared back into Laxus eyes. He didn't intend to retort, instead, he stood there with thousand of silent words in his eyes. Laxus should understand. Natsu and the others had been there in Evergreen's check up. They knew Evergreen more. Natsu won't give the head position to someone who just jumped in, and risk her life for political reason.

Laxus laughed a bit. "Fine, fine. I get it. Let's do this."

Natsu grinned at that. "Wendy, you harvest the graft. Laxus and I will do the bypass."

"Okay," Wendy nodded, grabbing a forceps and a scalpel from Lucy.

Laxus frowned. "Asking a mere intern to do the harvesting?"

"She's not just a mere intern," Natsu remarked. "She's my nakama."

Gray grinned at Natsu's answer. He was damn right. Gray silently agreed. There was no such thing as superiority in their team. They were all aiming towards the same goal. Taking off his sterile gloves, he nodded to Jellal. Man, how many surgeries he had been hopping to for today? This is so tiring. Gray chuckled inwardly.

"So, you've done a congenital heart surgery before?" Jellal asked in a more political reason than anything.

Gray shrugged, walking towards the door. "Never."

All eyes shot towards Gray. Natsu, Laxus and Wendy paused their work when they heard that.

"Never?" Levy asked instantly.

"Never once," Gray shook his head.

"Wait a minute," Jellal stared at him. "No matter how good you are, you cannot do a surgery that you had never done!"

"I never did it, but someone can," Gray grabbed his cell phone. "I'll make a call. Let's scrub while I'm at it."

* * *

In the midst of the flood of professors, Ul was seen standing abruptly and ran towards the exit door. Cradling her phone between her ear and shoulder, she hurried to her car.

"I'm on my way. Tell me the situation, Gray," she demanded right after Gray told her about the baby.

"It's the TGA with moderate VSD. Right now the baby is barely living with the shunt," Gray reported. "Gajeel already put the baby to sleep."

Jellal took his place after draping the baby's body with sterile cloth. Gray had his phone on bluetooth, conversing with Ul while his hands already requesting a scalpel from the scrub nurse.

"Hey, Gajeel, why are you not intubating the baby?" Gray frowned at the anesthetist.

"The baby is down. Just do your fucking job," Gajeel answered gruffly, almost ignoring Gray's question. His hands were holding the small mask on the baby's face.

"What the hell. How do you expect me to cut a baby who is not properly put to sleep?" Gray protested.

Gajeel sneered. "Don't go ordering me around!"

Gray was about to yell back when he heard a hissing noise from a bipolar. He turned to Jellal who was playing with the bipolar in his hand, pressing it a few times, making more hissing sound.

"What?" Gray almost spat at the ED vice professor.

"Gajeel is my team's ace," Jellal said adamantly. "Let's start."

It sounded like an order. As if Jellal telling him to shut up and keep going. Jellal was a decent man. His words weren't as harsh as his or Gajeel's. But Jellal's words gave a vibe of absolute order sometimes. Gray's face contorted in annoyance, but he cut the skin nonetheless, grumbling to Ul that he was starting.

"Newborn's chest is really fragile. Use a metzenbaum to open it gently," Ul instructed, putting on hands free as she started driving towards Magnolia. Gray followed as he was instructed by his teacher.

"How's his heart rate?" Gray asked Gajeel, a little worried about the baby's anesthesia.

"Do you job, cold freak!" Gajeel scolded, rolling his eyes in the process. Gray glared at him.

"After opening the chest, make sure you don't damage the lungs. Identify the arteries. Do you see them?" Ul continued.

"Yes," Gray said, looking at the displaced arteries.

Jellal fixed the retractor for Gray then took a suction to clear the view. "It's so small," he whispered.

"Open the heart and check for the VSD. Is it large?" Ul instructed again.

Gray obediently cut open the small heart. "It's restrictive but no tract obstruction," he reported.

"Good. We'll be doing arterial switch and VSD closure. Use a scalpel and suture 10-0 for repair," Ul ordered again. "I'll be there in half an hour. Do you have an assistant there?"

"Yes, Jellal is with me," Gray said, requesting a scalpel in the process.

* * *

"Graft harvesting complete," Wendy informed, clamping both ends of the graft as she handed it to Lucy.

"Thank you, Wendy," Lucy smiled, reaching for the graft. Just when she took the graft, she paused, looking down at the artery Wendy just collected.

"What's wrong, Lucy?" Natsu turned to the woman when he noticed Lucy did not hand him the harmonic he requested.

Lucy stared at the graft for a while then looked up to Wendy. "You harvested this?"

Wendy shifted uncomfortably. "Yes. Is there something wrong?"

Laxus took a glance towards the graft, turned back to his work just to snap back his head to stare at the graft again. "You collected this yourself?"

"Y-yes," Wendy started stuttering.

Natsu laughed, almost too haughty. "What did I say about her?" he proudly exclaimed, smirking at Laxus who was indeed speechless at the perfectly harvested graft. That was definitely not the level of an intern. Natsu must have trained her pretty well.

"It's beautiful, Wendy-san," Juvia reassured the intern with a comforting smile. In fact, she was surprised herself how well the graft was collected. Wendy had surely worked hard in this.

* * *

Ul arrived a little earlier than expected, joining in the surgery for the Strauss baby. Jellal bowed respectfully towards the professor while Gajeel adjusted the baby to provide the best view for the three of them. Grabbing her tools, Ul took over the position as the head surgeon, glancing at Gajeel for a few seconds before smirking.

"Gas down?" Ul asked the anesthetist, guessing the method Gajeel was using.

Gajeel groaned in annoyance. He wasn't willing to explain his work.

"Anesthesia drugs, even Ketamine, are extremely heavy for newborns. I was wondering how you were going to anesthetize the baby," Ul said with amusement in her voice. "I never knew you have a talented anesthetist who can do a gas anesthesia."

"Gas anesthesia?" Gray looked at his tutor questioningly.

"It's when you induce someone with a gas," Ul said. "It is hard to do because gas are used for maintenance instead of induction. It requires different level of MAC and a good handling of the patient. Not everyone can do it."

Gray squinted at the anesthetist who was starting to look uncomfortable. So he was doing a gas induction, huh. Gray had never do a newborn surgery. It was the first time he saw a newborn anesthesia. But one thing he was sure; he and Gajeel probably are bad at communicating.

Ul chuckled heartily. "Metallicana was praising my boys at the conference hall. He didn't tell me he hid a very talented student as well. I'm getting more shows than I thought I would."

"Just do your job!" Gajeel almost blushed at that.

* * *

That day, the professors at the Crocus General Hospital Conference Hall had no idea there were three simultaneous surgeries carried out at Magnolia Hospital. Three difficult heart surgeries by three surgical teams. No one knew, except the Dragon Team, because they were there and overheard when Ul accepted Gray's call. By the time Lyon's surgery almost ended, they decided to go to Magnolia afterwards.

"Flow down," Yuka announced when Lyon finished the Total Arch and Bentall procedure. His hand pushing a few buttons at the cardiac-lung machine.

"Flow down," Levy said from Evergreen's surgery room, pushing some buttons herself after Natsu, Laxus and Wendy completed the bypass.

"Backing up," Yuka turned the button clock wise, pushing the blood back into Macao's heart.

"Backing up," Levy did her part too.

Macao and Evergreen's surgeries ended simultaneously, and as their hearts started beating again, Juvia sighed in relief. The conference hall cheered at the success of Lyon's victory.

"We will now close up the heart," Lyon smiled in satisfaction. "Suture 2-0," he requested, grabbing the needle holder from Sherry.

In the other operation rooms, Natsu had also started to close the chest. Ul, Gray and Jellal had just finished the repair too and started closing the heart. Gajeel leveled up the baby to a more convenient position for them.

* * *

It was almost sunset when Jellal finally settled down at his office, sighing when he thought of how eventful that day was. He faced his office window, closing his eyes as he let the sunset basking on his face. Evergreen was currently resting, while her baby was sent to NICU for post operative observation and prematurity. Jellal already told Elfman that his baby might have to stay longer. But that didn't matter. His baby and his wife were saved. That alone was more than enough for him. Jellal remembered Elfman's tears when Jellal conveyed the message that both of them were finally stabilized. And since they already repaired the TGA, his baby can grow up like a normal boy.

Jellal slowly opened his eyes when he heard someone opening his office door and walked in. Turning around, he saw Erza standing not too far from him.

"Hey," he greeted with a faint smile.

Erza did not answer immediately though. She stared at Jellal's tired face, his hands resting on his desk, propping himself up with his sleeves rolled up to his elbows, and his top two shirt buttons undone. The sunset illuminating the soft color of his azure hair and the contour of his face.

"Gray told me about it," she started, "About Evergreen and her baby."

Jellal's smile died a little, but his lips still curved slightly upwards. "It was nothing. Everything was fine," he reassured her. "Did you get nominated?"

"Yeah," Erza approached the guy, facing the window. "Prof Igneel and Prof Weisslogia nominated me. And another one professor from Crocus itself too."

Jellal raised his brows. "Three nominations. As expected from the Titania," he grinned proudly.

Erza had almost forgotten her own nickname Titania. She hadn't heard it for a long time since she became a vice professor. They said her hands moved like a fairy when she performed a surgery, hence the nickname. She didn't even remember who started the name though.

"Do you regret going back?" Erza asked slowly, her heart clenching at the fact that Jellal was disqualified from the professor election. It wasn't that she wanted to lose, but she hated it when Jellal did not get what he deserved.

"No," Jellal answered almost too briskly.

Erza looked up to him, tearing her eyes from the beautiful sunset view in front of her. "Do you regret not being nominated?"

There was a pregnant pause between them before Jellal decided to speak. "Erza, have you ever thought of how great it would be if we could reach our patients a little earlier?"

"What do you mean?" Erza turned to face him.

"If the patient can be treated one second earlier, the heart might start beating again. If we can fly faster, perhaps the patient won't die," Jellal had a sad smile on.

Erza stared at him. "We're not talking about Evergreen anymore, right?" she wasn't really asking though. "Who are you talking about, Jellal?"

Jellal was silent for a few seconds. "No one."

"Liar," Erza bit her lips. "Why do you always keep things from me?" there was a tug in her heart, one that was painful enough to make her voice tremble.

"I'm not strong enough," Jellal's mind had been wandering elsewhere. His head hung down a bit, covering his eyes with his bangs.

"I know," Erza picked herself up so that she can face him properly. "But you're not exactly weak either. We all live desperately clinging to what we believe," she paused, looking up to Jellal's face. "Gray wouldn't have done it without you."

The silence filled the room again. Erza had stood, almost peeking through Jellal's bangs as he looked down. Gently, Erza reached up a hand, cupping Jellal's cheek to raise his head. "And so won't I." She wouldn't even be a cardiac surgeon if it wasn't for him.

The sunset fanned across Erza's figure, creating a beautiful shades of red on her scarlet hair. One that Jellal thought was the most beautiful scene he had ever seen.

It was probably because of the frustration, or maybe because he was just tired of denying his feelings all these years. That day Jellal threw caution to the air, and let himself engulfed by the throbbing excitement inside his chest. His hand took her face, and he leant forward, capturing her lips tentatively.

Erza's eyes widened a bit, but she found herself closing her eyes, savoring the feeling of his lips on hers. She had waited too long for this moment. Years of anguish and frustration. She wanted to savor this moment. Dainty fingers reaching up to his shirt, grabbing it gently as if it was her only support.

His other hand reached up to her waist, bringing her closer in a warm embrace, not breaking their kiss, dancing in a perfect rhythm together. Erza sighed, succumbing to his lead.

She was breathless when they broke their kiss, hands still clutching on his shirt while her eyes slowly opened up meeting his.

"I've always love the sunset," Jellal whispered as he tucked a few strands of her hair, his strong arm still circling her waist, hugging her close to him. "It reminds me of how beautiful you are."

Erza almost felt like it was a dream. And even if it was, she wouldn't want to wake up. She raised a hand slowly up to his face, and caressed his strong jaw line. Her heart was drumming frantically, playing a melody she only knew when Jellal was near. And when he lean into another kiss, she wrapped her arms around his neck, not trusting her legs to support herself anymore.

* * *

Evergreen opened her eyes, recognizing the interior of her ward. She could still feel the dull ache on her chest, but it didn't hurt as much as she thought it would. She tried to pick herself up, but she had to lie back when she felt the pain constricting. And that was when she noticed her husband sleeping by the side of her bed, head resting on his arms.

Oh yeah, her baby. She really wanted to see her boy again.

"Oh, you're awake," Mirajane greeted as she walked in. "How do you feel? Are you hungry?" her sister in law put a basket full with fruits on the side table.

"I feel like shit," Evergreen complained.

Mirajane smiled, taking a quilt from the cupboard and draped it on Elfman's sleeping figure. "If you can curse like that, I'm sure you're most probably healthy already. Elfman had been staying here for hours. I'll tell him to get home and rest." He must have been exhausted with all the stress.

Evergreen slowly sat up, leaning her body on the head board. "Why are you here? Don't you have a show?"

"I asked Jenny to take over my place," Mirajane took a chair nearby, placing it by Evergreen's bed and sit gracefully. "And it's not a show. It's a news broadcast."

"All celebrities like you are on show to me. Even if it's a serious weather channel," Evergreen snorted. Even if it was a weather broadcast, Mirajane's fame was more than that. People probably watch the weather news just to ogle at her rather than listening to the weather broadcasting.

Mirajane chuckled softly. "Would you like some fruit?"

Evergreen glanced at her sister in law, then sighed a bit while shaking her head. "I want to see my baby."

"We can go and visit him in NICU," Mirajane agreed. "By the way, have you named your baby?"

Evergreen dropped her gaze on Elfman's sleeping form, staring at him for a while before sighing softly. "He was our strength to go through all these shit we faced," she said and left the next unsaid, not intending to talk any further.

* * *

**A/N:** OMG I feel like a mess now. Now I got so many things I need to unfold. I was focusing on the surgeries so I didn't think about them before. *panic* Let's take a deep breath. *phewww* Okay, let's take one at a time. LOL XD I need to write carefully so I wont fuck up the plot. I hope I wont mess this up. Amen! XD

And thank you so much again for those who reviewed; **SeptemberGurl, superduperizee, The Golden Witch, Ash Dys, PandaGirl, TheLittleKittyMeows, Medaka-chan, Cana Alberona, imahappyperson, Ajerzaaddict, elle003, Kotaru, gruvialover, Yukari Hiwada, mgaa **and **Mango.**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N:** Ahaha, I can't promise a Miraxus. But if you want just a slight hint of them, I'll see what I can do later. I do starting to like them together though, since Mashima started to hint for them. I think they suit each other perfectly, and their babies would definitely be extremely beautiful. :3 Sorry, I have a huge interest towards Fairy Tail future babies since Asuka is here LOL! Btw, Jerza should kiss and date for real. They're making _me_ frustrated. Haha! Anyway, I'm having a bit of a hard time writing this chap, but it's done so oh well. Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 13**

* * *

"Juvia will change the pain killer to an oral one, Evergreen-san," Juvia concluded her follow up, providing the pain Evergreen was feeling seems to heal. "Does Evergreen-san needs anything more?"

"Just let me out already," Evergreen grumbled.

Mirajane chuckled. "Now, Evergreen, you just barely made it alive. A few days more won't hurt."

"Resting after a fight is manly," Elfman blurted before he can stop himself, just to own a smack on his head by his wife.

"Is my nephew okay?" Lisanna asked the two doctors.

"He's been stable so far. But he needs longer observation," Juvia smiled at the youngest Strauss.

"He still needs the warmer," Gray interrupted. "But you all are free to visit. Just make sure you are clean before touching him."

After a few more chats, Gray and Juvia excused themselves and left Evergreen's ward. Juvia was telling Gray about anesthetic plan for Evergreen, since anesthetically she can already be discharged. Gray almost sigh at that. Their collaboration would end after this. Does that mean he don't have anything to do with Juvia anymore? Gray should be thankful to her for Evergreen's recovery – oh yes, he owe his thanks to both Jellal and Laxus departments, and even Lyon – and he still remembered his desperation before they helped him. He should be happy now that Evergreen was getting better. Then why did he feel disinclined with this?

"Gray-sama?" Juvia's soft voice snapped him back to reality.

"Eh? Oh it was nothing," Gray scratched the back of his head. "We still need to do another echocardiogram before we discharge her. Are you going to discharge her first?"

"Yes. Even if Juvia doesn't discharge Evergreen-san, there is nothing to follow up as an anesthetist anymore."

Gray masked his disappointment. "I see. What do you plan to do after this?"

"How about you come and work with me, Juvia-chan?"

Gray and Juvia both jumped at the sudden intrusion.

"Lyon-sama!" Juvia gasped at the silver haired guy standing behind them. Since when was he there?

"What the hell are you doing here?" Gray scowled.

Lyon clicked his tongue. "Is that how you talk to the person who helped you out, Gray?"

"You were late for 50 minutes," Gray rolled his eyes.

"Excuse me. I was actually heading towards Crocus to _watch_ your Live Performance when you called me to go and _do_ it for you instead," Lyon argued. "It's a bother, you know."

"I can't help it," Gray groaned. "It was a difficult surgery, I can't think of anyone else other than you who can do it." Not until he knew Ul was there.

Lyon blinked, staring at Gray as if he had grown two heads. "Wait, what was that again? I didn't quite hear you, can you repeat that?"

"Get lost."

Lyon groaned. "You're no fun." Dismissing his fellow apprentice, he turned to the quiet blue haired lady in front of him. "How about we go and have our own fun, Juvia-chan?"

"Eh?" Juvia blinked at the scene unfolding between the two men.

"I'm surprised, Juvia-chan. Not only is your skill remarkable, but you are very beautiful and charming too," Lyon's hands reached and cupped Juvia's.

Juvia blushed at that. No one had ever call her beautiful or charming before. Lyon was the first, and probably will be the only one.

"What do you say? Would you like to join my team?" Lyon offered.

"Eh?" Juvia was flustered at the forwardness.

Gray snarled, forcefully entangling Lyon's hands from Juvia's. He didn't like it how Lyon intimately touching his... _nakama_. "She's not interested. Would you just leave to your own foreign hospital?"

"I was asking her, not you," Lyon glared at Gray. "Besides, as much as you hate it, I will be staying here in Magnolia Hospital for a while."

"Huh?" Gray's face contorted in displease. "What do you mean?"

"Sherry's fiancé, Ren Akatsuki, who is a cardiologist asked me to treat his friend," Lyon explained. "Apparently his friend was supposed to be treated at Crocus General Hospital, but that hospital refused to treat him. Ren asked for my help about him, so I asked Makarov to be a guest surgeon here. Consider it as a thanks for my help in the previous Live Performance."

"Crocus refused him?" Gray frowned.

"Yeah," Lyon turned back to Juvia. "What do you say, Juvia-chan? Would you like to help me this time?"

"You have Jura!" Gray almost yelled at his fellow apprentice.

* * *

"So? What's your plan now that you're out of the professor election?" Laxus sipped his tea, lounging himself on the couch in Jellal's office.

Jellal shrugged. "I'll just have to wait longer. Not that I have a choice. Plus my team is not yet complete-" his words abruptly stopped at the thought.

"Hmm? What is it?" Laxus noticed the sudden change in Jellal's tone.

"No, nothing. I was just thinking about someone," Jellal said, frowning a bit. Now that he think about it, why did Mirajane Strauss knew that her nephew's TGA had a shunt? Or rather, how did she even know a shunting? She seems to know quite a lot, despite her job as a news broadcaster.

Laxus scooted closer, wiggling his brows teasingly. "Someone? You mean Erza?"

Jellal almost choked at Laxus blunt guess. He blushed, remembering the kiss they shared on that eventful day. "No!" he denied quickly.

"No?" Laxus faked a horrible face. "Are you two timing? Jellal, I can't believe you're _that_ type of guy!"

"Cut it out, Laxus!" Jellal blushed deeper. "It's not like what you think! I would never do that!"

"You would never do what?" a female voice interrupted.

"Nothing, Erz-" Jellal turned to the voice, but froze at the long haired beauty. Her hair wasn't scarlet though.

"Ultear?" Jellal was surprised to see his friend. "And Meredy. What are you two doing here?"

"My mom is back, and so is Lyon. She wanted to make a family dinner, so I came with Meredy," Ultear said, sitting on the chair in front of Jellal's desk.

"Long time no see, Jellal!" Meredy cheered.

Jellal smiled at the petite pink haired girl. "I've missed you two. How's your work at the council?"

"Administration work sucks," Ultear shrugged. "But it was fine. By the way, what was that thing that Laxus said just now?"

"He's two timing," Laxus answered with a straight face.

"I did not!" Jellal tried to defend himself.

"You did not? So you and Erza are together now?" Ultear guessed. Well, she hadn't heard about Jellal's love life for quite some time.

Jellal stuttered a bit at that question, but he decided not to answer. Unfortunately, instead of having them stop teasing him, they all stared at him in surprise.

"You are?" Meredy exclaimed happily.

"I was seriously just guessing," Laxus laughed. "You didn't tell me!"

"I didn't know you have it in you," Ultear nodded. "Congratulations. Don't forget to use condoms."

"Will you guys just go out and leave me alone?" Jellal sweatdropped.

"So that you can have alone time with Erza?" Meredy swooned.

"Never mind, forget about it," Jellal sighed. He will never hear the end of it.

* * *

"Juvia-chan!" Lyon greeted Juvia at the café. "Are you free tomorrow night?"

Juvia blinked at Lyon's sudden appearance at the café while she was eating her lunch. "Juvia is quite free. Why?"

"Good! I want to bring you to our family dinner at Ul's house. I want to introduce you to her," Lyon grinned.

Juvia blushed. "Eh? Introduce Juvia to Ul-sama? J-Juvia is embarrassed."

Lyon blinked. "Why?"

"Who do you think you're bringing to the dinner?" Gray stepped between the two, glaring at Lyon with his voice dangerously low.

"Gray, stop getting in my way!" Lyon glared back.

"No way! She's my nakama, I'm not letting you have her!"

"She's your nakama, alright! I'm not trying to break your team or anything. She can still work with you while being with me."

"Hell no!"

"Why not?"

"You can't!"

Juvia looked at the two alternately, confused with the point of their argument. "Ano..." she hesitantly interrupted. "Juvia needs to go back to ED now..."

"Okay, Juvia-chan. Let me escort you there," Lyon skipped to Juvia's side just to be pulled back by Gray.

"She can go by herself!" Gray countered.

"I know she can! I'm just trying to be nice."

"You are not nice."

"Neither are you."

"What are you doing here anyway?!"

* * *

Erza was filing her department's patient records when she heard a knock on her office door. As she permitted the request, Lyon opened the door and walked in, huffing in a miffed manner before sitting on the chair.

"I was trying to get Juvia-chan to review my patient but Gray kept getting in my way," Lyon complained gruffly.

Erza raised a brow, deciding not to pry further as she was unable to comprehend the statement. She wasn't interested to know anyway. There was nothing good that came out of the quarrel between Lyon _and_ Gray. Erza paused. No, wait. There _was_ good things eventually. Macao's case was one.

"Sorry about that, I'm here to talk about the agreement between me and Makarov," Lyon cleared his throat, combing his hair back with his fingers as he looked up to Erza.

"Yes, he told me about it," Erza remembered Makarov telling her that Lyon will be staying at their hospital for a while. And he had a patient he wanted to bring in. Erza didn't quite mind about letting Lyon bring in a patient of his own, but she wasn't that appalled with the idea of Lyon co-habituating the hospital. They were both vice professors of cardiac surgery, and the department certainly did not need two leaders.

"Don't worry, I'm not interested in the power you have," Lyon said as if he could read Erza's hesitancy. "Especially not when Gray is in it. That asshole," he grimaced.

Erza chuckled. "Very well then. When are you bringing this patient of yours in?"

"This Friday. I'm doing a thorough medical check up and ready him for the surgery."

"Speaking of which, what kind of patient is he?" Erza decided to ask, since Lyon will be using her ward anyway.

"His name is Eve Tearm, 23 years old guy," Lyon started. "He is Dr Akatsuki's junior from their old high school. Apparently he had been having heart failure symptoms and Dr Akatsuki referred him to Crocus General Hospital for treatment but they refused to treat him."

"In medical law, doctors have rights to reject patients so long as they didn't accept them yet. But I doubt Crocus would refuse a patient without reason," Erza tried to dig more.

Lyon chuckled, knowing well of what Erza wanted to know. "It's a difficult disease. A very rare one too."

"Would you stop beating around the bush and get to the point already?"

"Impatient much?" Lyon teased, but decided to tell anyway. "Angiosarcoma of the heart."

Erza's eyes widened. "The rare heart malignancy. He got cancer?"

Lyon nodded. "The MRI Ren- I mean, Dr Akatsuki showed me was a huge one, covering almost the whole right heart. That explains why he was having those symptoms."

"Wait, what do you plan to do with him? That malignancy can spread even if you cut out the cells," it sounded more of a question though. Seeing what Gray did to help Evergreen led Erza to think that Ul's students aren't ones you would look down upon.

"Simple but difficult," Lyon shrugged. "Heart transplant. I'm going to request for a heart donor for him while hospitalizing him here. Once a donor is found, I'll do the surgery then I'll leave this place."

"I see. You plan to entirely replace the heart before it eats the body," Erza bit her lips. "But it would take a while for you to get a donor."

"Oh, don't worry. I don't mind staying here a bit longer," Lyon laughed. "I have my eyes on this particular beauty. I'll have lots of free time to get to know her."

* * *

Gray grumbled, scratching his head as he made his way through the corridor. He was annoyed to hell. He was planning to retrieve some things at ED just now and he could see Lyon having his free time chatting with Juvia. He wasn't jealous, but he never liked having Lyon around. Well, okay, he didn't dislike him this much in the past, but Lyon was a superb surgeon. Gray was bound to rival him in that – so he can dislike Lyon all he wants, whatever the reason was. Therefore he would not let Lyon take Juvia away from him. She was his teammate after all.

Gray paused when he saw a familiar brunette leaning against the wall, a small beverage bottle in her hands looking distant.

"What are you thinking, Cana?" Gray greeted her.

"Oh hey, Gray," Cana sighed a bit.

"Is something wrong? Sighing is so not like you," Gray squinted.

"I'm leaving for another course tomorrow. Looks like I'll be doing this for a few more years now that Jellal is disqualified in the election," Cana gulped down her drink.

"Why are ED team so enthusiastic at supporting Jellal's election anyway?" Gray voiced out his curiosity.

"Well..."

"Cana!" they heard Levy calling from afar, trotting towards them.

"Levy, why are you so in a hurry?" Cana bantered.

"I just returned from the professors office and there's a big news," Levy panted, ignoring Cana's sly smirk.

"Huh?" Cana and Gray almost choired at her.

"Jellal was nominated in the coming professor election," Levy breathed her words out.

"What?" Cana's eyes widened. "What do you mean? He missed the nomination!"

"Yes. But apparently someone nominated him," Levy finally calmed herself.

"Which professor would want to nominate a doctor who they didn't even know?" Cana argued.

"Well, about that, the one who nominated him was..." Levy trailed a bit, glancing aside at Gray's direction.

"What?" Gray frowned.

"It was Ul Milkovich."

Gray's brows rose in surprise.

* * *

**A/N:** Oh, I'm surprised you went for surgery, Esthellar (I never had a surgery myself LOL). :D But for kids, after the gas anesthesia it will be followed with Ketamine and some other induction agents before being intubated. Kids can do both gas and drugs anesthesia (depends if the IV line is available for the kids or not). But newborn's anesthesia is only the gas, no Ketamine or whatsoever. Some people are not used to it, becoz they don't look like being anesthetized. But it's very rare to see a newborn surgery though. Thank you again to those who reviewed; **Mango, TheLittleKittyMeows, ProjXPsyClone, Startails, gruvialover, PandaGirl, Medaka-chan, elle003, superduperizee, Kotaru, imahappyperson, mgaa, Ajerzaaddict, gruvia shipper, The Golden Witch, Esthellar** and the **unnamed Guest.**


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N:** Haha, sorry, Ultear will only be friends with Jellal in this story. I don't plan to add more dramas in Jerza more than what I have planned. So Gruvion will be the only developing love triangle here. I always imagine Lyon as a cool guy who lost it when he's with Juvia becoz we all know how cool he was in Galuna Island and the Oracion Seis arc. But him being in love is so epic! XD

* * *

**Chapter 14**

* * *

"Gray, stop blocking my way!" Lyon scolded.

"What? You were the one taking too much space just to bring out a teapot!" Gray countered.

"It's hot! I need a huge tray to bring it to the table!" Lyon argued.

"Will you two stop fighting!" Ul shouted from the kitchen. "I just asked you two to bring the plates out and you still have to make it difficult!"

Lyon and Gray grumbled, glaring towards each other as Gray trudged past Lyon towards the kitchen.

"Here, bring this to the dining table," Ul pushed a hot pot towards Gray, which Gray obediently took. "Is Ultear and Meredy here yet?"

"Not yet," Gray shook his head, putting the pot down a bit as he glanced towards his teacher. He was still a little bothered about the fact that Ul miraculously nominated Jellal in the professor election. It wasn't that he did not trust Ul, but why must it be a vice professor who missed the conference of all the people?

"Is something the matter, Gray?" Ul asked, with her hands still busy preparing the dinner.

"No, it's nothing," Gray shook his head. "Why didn't you tell me you came back?"

Ul laughed. "I didn't plan to. But when I heard they took my suggestion and pick you for the Live Performance, I wanted to watch it so badly."

Gray groaned. "Yeah, so you can scold me later?"

"Any mothers would want to see her children grow, boy," Ul gave a proud smile that Gray couldn't help the warmth he felt inside. Ul had always addressed Gray and Lyon as her sons, even though they weren't related by blood. They never complained though. After all, Ul had always treated them equally with her own daughter, Ultear.

"Well, it could have saved me a lot if you were the one doing it," he mumbled still.

Ul looked at him reproachfully. "I wouldn't know you were having some difficult surgery at the same time. I never thought you were able to pull it off."

He scoffed, rolling his eyes. "Yeah, thank you for the compliment."

"Sensitive much?" Ul laughed again. "What I mean was, I never thought you would found a great team that would make such surgeries possible," there was a pause in her words as her gaze softened. "She is a very good comrade, Gray. Juvia Lockser I mean."

Gray could feel the warmth inside him crept up to his face. He wasn't sure why, but he felt so glad that Ul liked Juvia. "Thanks," he muttered unconsciously.

"Hm?" Ul couldn't help but to notice the blush forming on his angular cheeks. It was rare, even for her, to see Gray blushing. "Shall I expect a wedding anytime soon?" she said impishly.

Gray blinked, his blush turned a few shades deeper. "W-what? Why would you say that?"

Ul laughed, dismissing Gray's stuttering answer. Oh, her boys are so obvious. Gray hated how Ul's laugh rang like a mock to him. But he could notice the change inside him at the mention of the girl's name too. He didn't deny it. He didn't deny it to Ul like how he did to Jellal and Cana before. Even if he wanted to, his heart wouldn't.

"Speaking of which," Ul smiled knowingly, trying to ease the uncomfortable conflict inside him. "Your handling on the coronary cusp is still an amateur. You should improve more."

"Huh?" Gray grimaced. "Fine, fine," he decided to quickly left the kitchen with the pot.

"Call Lyon and help with these abalone slices and mushrooms!" Ul called out with a chuckle.

By the time they finished setting the table with the hot pot and steamboat ingredients, they heard a car parked in front of the house. Lyon had went to open the door as to let Ultear and Meredy in. But before Lyon can even open the door, it was swung open harshly, and a blue haired guy stormed in straight into the dining area. Lyon was flabbergasted, standing frozen in place as Ultear and Meredy calmly made their way inside.

"What is Jellal doing here?" Lyon asked the two.

"Sorry," Meredy looked at him apologetically. "We tried to stop him."

Jellal's steps were fast and stopped firmly in the dining area, surprising Gray and Ul who was still preparing the bowls and plates.

Ul straightened her back, facing the young man. "Fernandez, what are you-"

Ul's words were cut off when Jellal threw a paper on the dining table. She looked down, noticing the paper as the list of the nominees for the professor election. Raising her brows, she looked up to Jellal's eyes. There was a tint of anger in his eyes.

"What's the meaning of this?" Jellal's voice was low and gentle, but they can sense the heat emanating in his aura.

"What's the meaning of what?" Ul was acting dumb. She knew what Jellal meant. He was enquiring her about the reason for nominating him. But she wanted to remain calm, and Jellal, despite his exterior calmness, was nowhere near that.

Gray had stopped his work, facing the sudden unexpected visitor. Lyon had came into the area with Ultear and Meredy in tow, looking utterly confused. Gray actually had the gist of what was this all about. He had heard Cana and Levy talking about it. And just then Jellal had confirmed his thought.

"Why did you nominate me?" Jellal's voice sounded low, as if he was containing something very heavy inside. "I don't need your pity here."

Ul's brows rose higher at Jellal's speculation. "Excuse me?" she placed a hand on her hips in an intimidating manner. "Do you seriously believe that I, of all people, would nominate someone out of pity?"

"Why else would you nominate a nominee who didn't even attend the nomination?" Jellal argued.

Ul scoffed. "Dr Fernandez, I think you missed out a very important fact here. When you are nominated, you are eligible of becoming a professor. You have the chance to win and become one. You have the chance of standing on the same level as I do – as Igneel, Metallicana, Grandeeney, Weisslogia, Skiadrum, Makarov, Yajima and Jiemma do. You'll be at the same level as we are, Fernandez. Did you seriously believed I would carelessly put people on our level out of pity?" they are leaders of the medical world, it wasn't an easy position to fit in. They have responsibilities towards the doctors, patients, communities and even the government.

As if the argument hit him, Jellal stood quiet. His calm breathing resonated inside his chest, dismissing the bad aura around him. He knew Ul was an excellent professor. She was very well respected in their field, and Jellal had surely heard a lot about her skills even though this was certainly their first encounter.

"Then why?" Jellal couldn't help but to ask.

Ul sighed, glancing at Gray who was watching calmly. "I wouldn't have nominated you if it wasn't for Gray."

Gray blinked confusedly, looking at his teacher. "Huh?"

"I knew you were running for the election when I read the nominees, but you weren't there," Ul started. "It surprised me, of course. Because you even sent an unknown anesthetist to do the Live Performance. When Gray called me to do the surgery for the baby, I was surprised that you were there. But that was when I understood you as a person," she paused, staring at Jellal's face. "Why didn't you go to the conference? And why didn't you pick Gajeel in the Live Performance? These questions were the ones that lead me to nominate you."

Jellal was still quiet, trying to make sense of Ul's speech.

Ul chuckled. "You didn't come because you put the patient's life above your nomination, and you didn't pick Gajeel because you trusted in your friends and values the teamwork," she answered for him. "Am I not right, Dr Fernandez?"

"I... I didn't... Well..." Jellal tried to reason, though nothing actually came out of his head.

"You are the perfect type for a leader," Ul smiled softly. "I wouldn't want to miss nominating someone like you."

Ultear had walked up to Jellal, patting his shoulder in a comforting way. She nodded in approval when Jellal turned to her. In some way, she agreed with her mother, even though they rarely agree with each other, but Ultear knew her mother was always analytical. And she picked the right choice in this.

"Your subordinates are very good by the way," Ul said warmly. "At least Gajeel and Juvia are."

And Jellal couldn't help the proud smile forming on his face. "They sure are."

"Would you mind if you let me have Juvia-chan?" Lyon interrupted, partly to soothe the tension in the room.

Gray glared at him. "Jellal won't let you."

"Why do you always answer for people when I didn't even ask you?" Lyon glared back in a miffed manner.

Ul, Ultear, Meredy and Jellal turned their attention to the quarreling surgeons. Jellal was partly amused at the childish side Gray and Lyon showed in front of Ul, which he thought they were completely different at work. Ul blinked a few times, trying to rationalize the unusual quarrel before smirking.

"I see," Ul laughed. "So I can definitely expect a wedding in the near future. It's just that I don't know whether it would be Gray or Lyon."

Gray spun towards his teacher. "Of course not Lyon! There's no way he's marrying her!"

"That's not for you to decide, idiot!" Lyon yelled back. "And why are you even in the list?"

* * *

Gray lay on his bed that night, pondering about a lot of things – about Juvia. _Juvia_. Gray bit his lips. He had never think about a girl this much before. Sure, he had dated a few girls, but he had never been that much into it. Somehow, Juvia had occupied his mind too much before he even realized it.

Her soft wavy hair felt so nice and smooth under his touch. Her smiles and laughs were a melody he had always loved to hear. She looked very beautiful, and cute, and sexy at the same time that Gray wasn't even sure how that was even possible.

But above anything, Gray loved the very core of her. She was selfless and understanding. Gray remembered how she looked so attentive with Wendy's insecurities. She was the one who studied till night to find a possible way to help Evergreen and her baby. And even though she had her quirks, Gray always loved entertaining every side of her, like how she would easily cry and then laugh again. Gray smiled when he remembered her crying when she thought he was trying to bully her. She wasn't really that hard to please either.

Juvia was loyal, very supportive, and she trusted in him so much and Gray loved the sense of pride she gave him. She's strong, and she never blamed things on other people, nor waiting to be saved by someone. When she was bullied at the other hospital, she had fought all alone, and yet she never gave up and stood for herself. She's skillful, even though she needed to build more confidence in herself. Heck, Gray couldn't even list all her good sides anymore.

"Fuck," Gray breathed, placing a hand on his forehead as he closed his eyes. "I like her."

And he felt his heart beating calmly, and surely filled with warmth at the thought. It was a pleasant feeling that he wished would stay forever. He had never though that his heart would feel this good.

He sighed at the realization. And what makes matter worse, Lyon seemed to be interested in her too. He felt the pang of jealousy in his heart.

_Damn, that bastard_. He scrunched painfully. Why do they always want the same thing? Gray stared at his own palm for a while. He really wanted to hold her again. He could still feel the contour of her body when he hugged her in the dark lobby before Evergreen's surgery, and he remembered how soft she was.

Gray huffed and quickly pulled his blanket. He wasn't going to let his mind travel to the forbidden area - especially not in the middle of the night. He better get his sleep now.

* * *

Juvia trotted her way through the lobby, ready to go home after finishing her work. She clutched her purse, bowing at some nurses she met along the way. Just as she reached the main door, she saw Gray leaning on a pole nearby, twirling his keys between his fingers.

"Gray-sama!" Juvia greeted him, waving her hands cheerfully.

"Hey," Gray smiled at her, pushing his keys into his pocket as he approached her. "Have you finished your work?"

"Yes, Juvia is going home now," she nodded.

"Do you want me to send you home? I'm going back too," Gray offered.

"It's okay, Juvia doesn't want to be a bother."

Gray groaned inwardly. Why won't she get the clue? He just wanted to spend some time with her, now that Evergreen's case is no longer a valid excuse. "No, I insist," he placed a hand on her back, as a sign for her to come with him.

Juvia blinked innocently, letting Gray steer her to his car and carefully get in after Gray opened the passenger seat for her. Closing the door, Gray get into the car himself and drove off.

"Does Lyon still disturb you?" Gray asked, trying his best to mask the jealousy in his voice. To be honest, Lyon wasn't the playboy type. In fact, he rarely gave his attention to any girls. Why must it be Juvia of all girls? Gray felt annoyed.

"Juvia didn't feel disturbed. Lyon-sama was being very nice," Juvia replied politely.

"He's not being nice," Gray groaned at her indifference. Lyon was being far too obvious, and Gray didn't like it one bit.

Juvia smiled a bit. "Juvia thinks Gray-sama has a very warm family."

"What do you mean?"

"Being able to ask for help, and have a nice talk with a family like Lyon-sama, Juvia feels a bit jealous," her voice was soft, and sad at the same time.

"We never had a nice talk," Gray grimaced.

Juvia chuckled a bit, a little too soft to even make her feel happy. And then her smile curved into a sad one. Gray stole a few glances at the woman. He knew what Juvia meant though. The fact that he and Lyon were able to support each other – even though Lyon was a jerk – it was a relationship Juvia never had.

Carefully, Gray reached a hand, grasping Juvia's small ones that were resting on her lap. Juvia looked down at his hand holding hers, then she looked up at Gray. He was still concentrating on the road, but even in the darkest night, Juvia could see the faint blush on his cheeks.

"You have a lot of nakamas you can depend on now," Gray said, as if explaining his gesture.

Juvia smiled, grasping Gray's comforting hand in her own. Gray was so nice and kind, Juvia can almost feel the warmth of his heart reverberating inside her. It was as if the cold hearted surgeon Gray Fullbuster had never existed. She sighed contently, not letting his hand go, hoping deep inside that the ride would never end.

"Are you considering Lyon's invitation?" Gray asked quietly.

Juvia smiled a bit. "Juvia wouldn't mind."

"Working with him?" Gray felt his heart break a little. "You flatly rejected me when I asked you," he mumbled the last part.

"Juvia means helping him with his current patient," Juvia chuckled. "Juvia doesn't plan to leave ED yet."

"He already has Jura," Gray reasoned.

"But Juvia feels bad if she doesn't help people in need."

Gray groaned. She totally had no idea on what Lyon's intention was. Gray wasn't stupid. It wasn't that hard for him to realize why he was being overly possessive towards Juvia. No matter how much he tried to deny the tug in his heart, the fact was he couldn't help but feel insecure with Lyon's advances. What if Juvia fall for Lyon? What if Lyon propose to Juvia and she accepted? Gray couldn't stand the future of where he had to face Juvia as Lyon's girl whenever Ul gathered them in a family gathering.

"Thank you for sending Juvia home, Gray-sama," Juvia had a beautiful smile before reaching for her purse. "Good night!"

Just as Juvia was about to go out, Gray's hand shot up and grabbed her arm, stopping her on track. Juvia turned back to the raven haired guy with a questioning look. And Gray couldn't help but to adore her round dark blue eyes. He felt a pleasant turmoil in his chest, or stomach, or wherever that was, Gray didn't care anymore. It took him every strength not to just lean and kiss her.

"Gray-sama?" Juvia asked when Gray remained quiet, still not letting her arm go.

"Sorry, I was just wondering," Gray cleared his throat, blushing a bit. "Are you free this weekend?"

Juvia blinked. "Eh? Why?"

"I was thinking of taking you out."

It was Juvia's turn to blush, and Gray thought it was funny how they both sat there bashfully. "Does Gray-sama mean like a... A d-date?"

Gray wanted to deny the date part actually. But then he remembered their deal when they first talked. "Well, kind of. I promised to take you out on a date if you join the team, remember?"

Juvia gaped. "Gray-sama will take Juvia on a date?" she still couldn't exactly wrap her mind with the idea of going on a date with one of Ul's student.

"Yeah," Gray paused before cautiously curved his lips up to a small chuckle. "Can we please... Exclude the white horse part though?"

"Yes! Gray-sama!" Juvia almost squealed at the happiness gushing inside her heart.

"Great," Gray nodded, slowly letting her arm go. "Then I'll just pick you up in the morning this weekend. I'll see you later."

"Yes, Gray-sama," Juvia nodded obediently.

"Good night then."

Gray watched how Juvia happily went out of his car and walked into her door. And Gray couldn't help the grin that started to form on his face.

* * *

**A/N:** Too many Gruvia in this chappie. I'm a Gruvia mess now. XD I'll give some other scenes next chapter. ;) Thank you for those who reviewed and all those who had supported me in every ways; **xgasai-yunox, KIM, Kotaru, Medaka-chan, BlackFish29, elle003, Mango, Yukari Hiwada, mgaa, gruvialover, superduperizee, nikkiwrites, animefan** and the **unnamed Guest.** I love you all! :D


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N:** Yep, a date. I think it will be one whole chapter when I write about their date becoz it will be like one whole day. And I purposely made Gray realize his feelings first becoz I want it to be that way. Though I know it's supposed to be the other way round. Plus, after all the things they've been through, it wouldn't be hard for Gray to realize it coz he had already seen enough sides of her. I think you already know that right now, Juvia doesn't realize her own feelings yet (she still thought she likes Gray becoz he's Ul's pupil). Pair up with Lyon practically wooing her, Gray needs to hurry. LOL.

* * *

**Chapter 15**

* * *

Erza had just welcomed Eve to her ward, providing the needs for her patients as Lyon's team attended him. Ren was there too. He wasn't a doctor in Magnolia Hospital, but he had the complete detail regarding Eve's disease, thus Erza decided that it was best for him to help Lyon out.

It was a calm Friday, and Erza excused herself after settling Eve's ward. She walked passed the corridor when a familiar voice called out to her.

"Er-chan!"

Erza smiled as she watched Millianna waving towards her from the hospital entrance with Kagura standing behind her.

"What are you two doing here?" Erza pivoted her heels and walked towards them instead.

"Kagura is doing a medical check up," Millianna answered cheerfully. "She had been easily tired lately and she can't do much work. Her chest hurts occasionally and she sometimes looks breathless and-"

"Millianna, you're exaggerating," Kagura warned as she squinted disapprovingly to her friend.

"Are you okay?" Erza shifted her gaze towards Kagura with concern in her eyes.

Kagura rolled her eyes. "She's _exaggerating_."

"But you did fainted once at the office," Millianna whined.

"Because I was overworked and didn't get enough rest," Kagura said firmly.

"You should take care of yourself more," Erza chuckled. "Why don't you go for the check up first, just to make sure there's nothing wrong?"

"Yes! That's what I've been telling her," Millianna nodded eagerly. "Ne, why don't you check her up, Er-chan?"

Erza blinked. "Eh? No, we have our physician who would do the check up at the clinic. They will refer to the respective departments if needed."

"Aww," Millianna whined again.

"Why don't we just go home?" Kagura complained.

"No, why don't I just bring you to the clinic to make sure you two really go for the check up then," Erza offered.

* * *

Mirajane was staring at her nephew, smiling gently when his small hands occasionally moved in the incubator. She had never been bored watching him, even though all he did was lying there doing nothing.

"Visiting your nephew?"

Mirajane turned around to see Jellal standing behind her. "Hey," she smiled before turning back to the baby.

"Where's Elfman and Evergreen?" Jellal stepped closer, joining the beauty watching the innocent being.

"They went back to pick some things at home," Mirajane said softly.

"Evergreen was already discharged?" Jellal glanced at her. "Congratulations."

"Thanks," Mirajane smiled gratefully.

Jellal stared at the baby incubator. "Everett Strauss?"

"Yeah," Mirajane traced the incubator screen with her delicate finger. "They said they wanted a strong name, because the baby had been their strength through all those tiring days," she paused. "And they wanted to make a tradition of naming their babies with the letter E, like the parents."

"Their babies," Jellal raised his brows in amusement. "Good to know that they do plan to have more babies." Some people are traumatized, they won't even plan to have a second one.

Mirajane chuckled lightly. "Are you here to do a check up for him? Sorry if I'm disturbing you," she bowed slightly with a smile before pivoting her heel.

"No, the one in charge of him is Gajeel. I'm actually here to see you," Jellal quickly stopped her from trying to leave.

"Me?" she blinked.

"Yes."

"Why me?"

"I'm interested in what you said to Elfman before his baby's surgery."

"Which one?"

"When I counseled Elfman about his baby, you supported my suggestion," Jellal said, pushing his hands into his side pocket. "You told him that his baby was barely living with a shunt. I didn't tell you that, how did you know he had a shunting?"

"Oh that," Mirajane chuckled obliviously. "Because most TGA cases are associated with VSD, of course it would have a little shunting at the very least."

"That's not what I meant," Jellal shook his head a bit. "Why do you even know the prevalence of TGA when you're actually a weather broadcaster? It's as if you used to be someone from our field."

Mirajane bit her lower lip as realization hit her. "People nowadays can search stuff from internet, you know."

"Yes, but that was an emergency situation. It was just seconds from when you heard the disease name," Jellal didn't buy her answer.

Mirajane was quiet for a while, probably trying to make sense of her possible answers but soon she decided to give up. She have no reason to keep it a secret anyway.

"I used to study medicine," she admitted.

"Medicine?" Jellal was amused. "So you used to be a doctor?"

"No," Mirajane smiled a bit. "I quit half way from my medical college."

Jellal frowned at her answer.

Mirajane sighed a bit. "I was half way through when my parents died in an accident. Elfman and Lisanna were still in school and we don't have enough money for tuition fees," she continued. "So I quit the college and searched for jobs. That's when I entered the celebrity world and work as a news broadcaster."

"A weather news too, of all other news," Jellal chuckled a bit. "To think that I would find the perfect person in this ridiculous situation..."

"What do you mean?"

"Would you like to work for me, Mirajane Strauss?"

"What?" Mirajane's eyes were wide at the sudden offer. "Wait. I don't understand this. Why would you hire someone who didn't even complete her degree?"

"I'm not interested in the degree," Jellal said. "I'm interested in your knowledge."

"My medical knowledge?" Mirajane asked. "But you can have thousand other doctors who have better knowledge than I do."

"No, not just medical knowledge," Jellal smirked. "I need someone who has both knowledge of medicine and of a climatologist. And you fit that."

* * *

Erza was heading towards her office after sending Millianna and Kagura to the clinic when she saw Jellal talking with Mirajane. Erza recognized her as Evergreen's sister in law, but anyone in their country knows the celebrity image Mirajane had. And even during off screen in the hospital like that, Erza still thought she looked really pretty.

Jellal was chatting with Mirajane when he saw Erza passing by. And as he politely bowed to Mirajane, he walked off towards Erza, escorting her back to her office.

"Where were you from?" Jellal asked, walking besides Erza as they walked.

"I sent some friends to the clinic," Erza said. "Why?"

"Nah, I was just wondering since you passed by the NICU. It wasn't in the way to your office," Jellal smiled softly.

Erza pouted a bit. "You don't want to be caught talking with another girl?" she almost mumbled.

"No," Jellal chuckled. "I was seriously just curious of your route of choice, that's all."

Erza wanted to sulk, but she didn't want to look like a desperate clingy girlfriend. She wanted to give Jellal the space he deserved. But even so, she was just a normal woman. And Jellal was a handsome young man who can easily get a better girl than her. She couldn't help but feel a little insecure.

"Are you jealous?" Jellal peered into her face.

Erza blushed. "No, no, that's not it," she realized she was stuttering. "Thank you for accompanying me," she skipped to her door, pushing it open hastily in attempt to hide her embarrassment.

Jellal followed her in, closing the door as he stared at her. "Please don't worry too much. Mirajane and I are purely business."

Erza sighed, giving in to the feeling inside her. "You have a business with a celebrity?"

"Yes," Jellal smiled reassuringly. "I'm sorry, I can't tell you what it was about yet. But trust me, it was purely business."

"Oh, yeah. I heard about your nomination," Erza said.

"I didn't expect that to happen but somehow I'm grateful with it," Jellal nodded a bit.

Erza couldn't help the small relieved smile on her lips. "Thanks," she whispered.

Thanks for being so understanding. Thanks for being so kind. Thanks for being humble and gentle. Erza wasn't even sure what she did that made her deserve such a man like Jellal. But even if she didn't deserve him, she wanted to be selfish and keep him for herself.

Jellal reached a hand up and cupped her face gently. "Trust me, okay?"

Erza nodded obediently, slightly loss in Jellal's husky tone as he slowly inched closer and captured her lips. She sighed contently, winding her arms around Jellal's neck as he slipped a hand around her waist, pulling her close, taking in her unique taste.

She felt Jellal's tongue teasing her bottom lip, and she gladly permitted entrance for him. But just as they started to deepen the kiss, the door of her office was swung open harshly. And Erza quickly broke the kiss, pushing Jellal away from her. Jellal stumbled a bit, balancing himself by the office table looking flushed as he looked over to the very being that stood in astonishment at the widely opened door.

"What the hell did you want, Gray?" Erza yelled, face flushed with her previous make out.

Gray was gaping at the scene he just saw. Okay, he did _not_ just watch his vice professor _making out_ with Juvia's vice professor inside her office. That was just sick. But what concerned him most at that time was Erza's deadly glare that Gray thought he would have died – if looks could kill, that is.

Jellal stood up, straightening his shirt and tie as he cleared his throat. "I'll be returning to my office. I'll see you around, Fullbuster," he patted Gray's shoulder once before leaving the room.

And by the moment he left, Gray wished he wouldn't.

"I promise I will knock the door the next time I come to your office," Gray chuckled nervously, facing his leader whose face was red. Gray wasn't sure whether out of embarrassment or anger.

"SHUT UP!"

That day Gray cancelled all of his surgeries due to some muscle pain.

No one knows why though.

* * *

Juvia was heading towards ED after a break at the garden when she saw Lyon talking to a girl at the hallway. Juvia recognized her as Lyon's teammate from the Live Performance. They were chatting in a serious manner and Juvia thought Lyon looked so cool in that posture. She blushed slightly at the thought.

"Inside the heart, the tumor is surrounded by aorta and pulmonary arteries. The heart and valve paralysis causing trauma to both. The later we leave it, it will cause the damage of the heart cells. It's just the matter of time that he might get a cardiac arrest," Lyon said, running a hand through his silver hair, with another hand tucked in his pocket.

"If the metastasis occurs, there will be no point in surgery, Lyon," the pink haired girl added, and Lyon nodded.

"About the extension of the tumor itself is-" Lyon's eyes turned as he caught Juvia standing not too far from him. "Ah, Juvia-chan!"

Juvia blinked, quickly bowed at the young surgeon. "Sorry, Juvia didn't mean to disturb Lyon-sama!"

"No, no, we were just gossiping," Lyon laughed.

"Gossiping?"

"It's the term Lyon always use when discussing about patients. Because Toby always had trouble remembering patients details, Lyon asked us to treat it as a gossip instead so our unconscious mind would remember it," the girl next to Lyon interrupted.

"Oh, yeah, Juvia-chan. This is Chelia," Lyon introduce them. "She's the genius who became a surgeon at a very early age. You can call her my apprentice."

Juvia bowed at her. "Please to meet you."

Chelia squinted a bit before bowing slightly to her. Juvia thought Chelia didn't seem to like her presence much, but it could be only her imagination.

"Oh, are you interested at joining my surgery, Juvia-chan?" Lyon jumped to Juvia's side, slipping a hand around her waist. "Then how about we go and have a drink while gossiping about the patient?"

"What? Lyon, why does she have to join us?" Chelia flustered. "And why did you take a sudden liking to this woman?"

"Don't be silly, Chelia. Who wouldn't like a woman like Juvia-chan?" Lyon was entertaining Chelia's fuss.

Juvia didn't really register what they were fighting about. But she felt happy. She had been feeling so since Gray took her in. She had never felt so valued in a team before she came to Magnolia Hospital. In fact, despite she tried to give her best for the people she wanted to believe as her friends, the more they constantly ignored her. She wasn't even sure why. Perhaps she was too annoying, or maybe people just hated her.

But being here in Magnolia now made her almost forget about all the hostility she had. Even though she was surrounded with talented people, even though she was still the ordinary girl, they never took her for granted. She was part of them, no matter what her past was. And Juvia was convinced that this is where she belong.

Because after every rain, there would be rainbows.

Juvia had always believed in that. And she was glad she did.

* * *

**A/N:** To Esthellar; Damn, it was the smell of apple? All these while I always believed the gas smelled like strawberry. ROFL! XD

Thank you so much for those who gave me critics and inputs and all the reviews. I'm trying my best to improve my writing even though I kinda hit my dead point already, LOL. Don't ask me why, I don't even know. I really thought I won't get this since I kinda thought of the plot and details since before I write the fic down, but I guess writers block would just come at any part of stories huh. Thanks for all the support! Love y'all; **Medaka-chan, xgasai-yunox, dorac, Ash Dys, Esthellar, elle003, mgaa, gruvialover, superduperizee, Yukari Hiwada, Ajerzaaddict, Kotaru** and the **unnamed Guest.**


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

* * *

That weekend when he went to pick Juvia up at her house, he thought she looked a bit different. She was wearing a white summer dress with a light pink cardigan. Her wavy blue hair wore down naturally. Her eyes were looking down everywhere, not meeting his as she shifted slightly.

"Are you okay?" Gray asked in concern.

"Y-yes," Juvia nodded slightly.

"Okay," Gray stared at her. "Then shall we go?"

Juvia nodded timidly. Gray was about to walk back to his car, but when he realized Juvia was still not moving, he grabbed her hands and pulled her with him. She obeyed him, getting into his car, letting him drive away to wherever the destination was.

* * *

They reached a park at the outskirt of Magnolia, and Gray took Juvia walking along the lake. The trees were green, swaying in the harmony of the wind. Taking a glance at Juvia, Gray deliberately stopped his steps abruptly, making Juvia bumped lightly onto him.

"Juvia is sorry! Juvia didn't see Gray-sama standing there!" she bowed a few times, apologizing hurriedly.

"What is wrong with you?" Gray asked. "You don't seem like yourself since I took you out," he paused cautiously, a discomforting tug in his chest. "Do you not want to go out with me?"

"No, that's not true!" Juvia quickly shook her head in despair. "It's just that... Juvia feels..."

"Yes?"

"Juvia just fells weird going out without a hat."

Gray blinked. "That's it?"

Juvia blushed. "Y-yes..." In truth, she felt utterly insecure, as if she was exposed to the whole world. As if the rain that had been falling upon her would hit her again. Even though the weather had been so nice, she still feared if the 'rain' in her heart would start raining again.

"Why didn't you bring along your hat then?"

"Levy-chan said the Russian hat doesn't suit Juvia's dress," Juvia pouted.

Gray scanned Juvia up and down before nodding. "She's right. It doesn't."

"Juvia is fine. We should continue," she said softly, shifting another time under Gray's gaze.

"Yeah, c'mon," Gray grabbed her arms, dragging her a little too fast to a direction.

Juvia almost thought Gray was mad at her, by the way he hold her a little too rough and how he dragged her while she could barely catch up. But when they reached a stall at the park, Juvia almost couldn't believe it—it was a stall that sells hat and a few other hair accessories. Gray was picking a few summer hats, putting one on her head.

"Gray-sama?" Juvia blinked.

Gray stared at Juvia for a while before taking the hat off her head and picked another one. "We just need to find a new hat that suits you in that dress."

"No, Gray-sama, it was just a silly concern. Juvia promises she won't bother Gray-sama with this anymore!"

"I don't want you to look uncomfortable with me," Gray placed a light pink summer hat on her, staring at her up and down before smiling. "This one looks good on you."

Gray turned to the stall owner, telling he was taking the hat as he made the purchase. Juvia was still confused to register what was going on. And that was when she realized she made the respected genius cardiac surgeon to buy her things.

"Juvia is sorry. Juvia will pay Gray-sama later," she blushed at the hassle she caused.

"I didn't ask you to. Just keep it as my gift for you," Gray was still looking around the items.

Juvia looked up at Gray who was picking something. And before she could say anything, she felt Gray's hand reaching the v-shaped neck of her dress softly. Juvia could feel how his fingers brushing the skin of her chest. And for a second, the feeling of his fingers glazing against hers made Juvia's imagination went wild.

"It suits you. We should take this one too," Gray said after he was done placing the object.

Juvia looked down to see a light blue butterfly clip attached at the neck of her dress. It was cute indeed. Her hands reached up, touching her new clip as Gray paid the owner.

"Why?" Juvia could feel her heart beating faster.

"Because you're like a butterfly," Gray replied after bidding farewell to the stall owner, taking Juvia's hand to leave.

"No," Juvia bit her lower lip tentatively. _Why are you so nice to me? Why does it hurts so much in my heart?_ She hold a hand on her chest, calming the beating of her own heart.

"You are," Gray said obliviously. "We should hurry before noon."

Juvia wasn't really sure what Gray meant, but she obeyed anyway, following Gray's footsteps. "Where are we going?"

"You want a walk in a beautiful garden, didn't you?" Gray walked along the park with his hands firmly holding onto hers.

When they finally crossed the park, Juvia found herself gaping at the view. They were standing in front of a wide garden, with thousand of petals of different colors flew across them. The fountain located at the middle of the garden adding the beautiful serenade with the sound of water, and the different petals floating on its surface. There were patches of white, green, red, pink, purple and blue bushes and Juvia couldn't help but crouch in front of a bunch of growing white lilies in front of her, hands almost plucking one of them.

"Gray-sama, it's so beautiful! It's full with flowers!" she gasped, almost squealing in delight. She wanted to roll around like a girl in fairy tale stories.

Gray smiled, tucking his hands into the pockets of his black jacket as he watched the girl giggling happily. He had to ask Erza about the location of gardens in Magnolia for her, though it cost him a few beatings from the scarlet devil. But Juvia looked so happy, Gray thought it was all worth it.

"Can Juvia take some of the flowers here?" she asked innocently.

"Uh, no," Gray chuckled. "But I can buy you a bouquet at their shop if you want."

"No, Gray-sama bought Juvia a lot already for today," Juvia's lip pouted a bit.

"It's a date, Juvia," Gray emphasized. "I _want_ to buy things for you."

"Oh yeah. Juvia wished for a satisfying date after all," Juvia felt a painful tug in her heart, but before she could comprehend, Gray already took her hand and pulled her into a glassy building nearby.

They were immediately greeted by the florist with a huge smile, and Juvia was amazed at how nice the flowers were arranged inside the building. The flowers were freshly trimmed and the room was filled with delicate scent. Gray was already asking the florist for a bouquet that suits Juvia before she could even refuse.

"Do you like any flowers in particular, miss?" the florist asked politely with a perfectly warm smile.

"No, actually-"

"Just pick, Juvia. I didn't bring you here for nothing," Gray grumbled a bit.

Reluctantly, Juvia looked around. Her eyes caught a bunch of bright pink flowers full with rosy petals. "What flower is this?"

"That's the red camellia," the florist answered generously. "It grows in a warmer zone, usually during late fall. We grew them in a separate room here to monitor the temperature that cater the flower most. It represents everlasting love because of the nature of the flower itself," she paused when she saw Juvia picked the flower up. "You see, the petals usually represents the lady, while the calyx represents the young man. When the red camellia wither, the calyx will fall together with the petals. This is unlike most other flowers, where the calyx seems to hang around the tree even after the petals have dropped. This phenomena symbolizes an everlasting union between lovers."

Juvia almost gaped at the explanation. "That is a very beautiful love story," her eyes were glassy, obviously touched at the symbolic of the flower in her hand.

Gray had to suppress his grin at her apparent emotion.

"What about this one?" Juvia picked a long-stemmed two-toned flower of white and lavender in cyme, and Gray was glad that she looked excited again.

The florist smiled. "That's lisianthus. It has a wide symbolic meaning of itself. Generally symbolizes gratitude and appreciation. Sometimes it can also symbolizes calmness. It's a very peaceful flower of all."

"It does look peaceful," Juvia agreed.

The florist nodded then elbowed Gray a bit. "Your girlfriend has a very nice taste."

Gray blinked. "Eh, w-what?"

"Lisianthus is a very popular flower. And camellia has a very deep meaning too. She has good eyes," the florist explained.

"Oh, uh... Thanks," Gray chuckled awkwardly. That wasn't what surprised him. Somehow he liked it when strangers mistaken her as his girlfriend.

"Gray-sama!"

She _squealed_. Gray turned to see what excite her. Juvia was holding a bunch of bluebells in her hands.

"It's Juvia's favorite flowers! They have it!"

"Right," Gray nodded once. "You shouldn't ruin the whole bunch though."

The florist stared in amusement, watching how the timid lady had turned into a very jovial one in front of her. "She's very labile."

"You have no idea," Gray laughed.

"Can I have this one?" she hold them higher to emphasize.

"Sure, why not?" the florist stepped forward, ready to prepare the bouquet she requested.

"How about we take all three flowers?" Gray suggested.

The florist tilted her head, thinking of Gray's suggestion. "The camellia and full bloom lisianthus don't go well together. How about I blend the full bloom camellia together with the budding lisianthus and some bluebells in the bouquet?"

"We'll take that," Gray agreed, and the florist nodded before going to prepare them.

Juvia let the florist took the flowers to the back as she turned back to Gray. "Wouldn't it cost a lot to take all three?"

Gray shrugged. "I think they suit you. Besides, you don't have to worry about that today. It's our day, let's just enjoy it."

When the florist finished arranging the flowers, Gray went to pay while Juvia took the bouquet in her hands. She was smiling brightly, taking in the scent of the beautiful flowers.

The florist smiled teasing, leaning a bit closer to Juvia as she whispered. "I think your boyfriend really loves you. He's doing everything he can to see you smile."

Juvia almost dropped the bouquet. "E-eh? H-he... He's not Juvia's boyfriend..."

The florist blinked in confusion. "He's not? But just now he-"

"Juvia, let's go," Gray called. And Juvia quickly followed Gray out, leaving the florist still blinking as she watched the couple disappear.

* * *

"Are you hungry?" Gray asked when they reached his car, looking back to Juvia who was still hugging her bouquet to her face.

"Umm, no," Juvia shook her head slowly, still hiding her face behind the bunch of flowers.

"You sure? It's already noon."

"Is Gray-sama hungry?"

Gray frowned. His hand reached up to pull the flowers down in attempt to see her face. She quickly held them up again.

"What is wrong again now?" Gray squinted.

"It's nothing!" Juvia shook her head, still feeling herself blushing. The idea of Gray being her boyfriend was too overwhelming for her heart to bear. The image of Gray holding her intimately doing what couples normally do flashed in her mind and it was almost too intense. She almost couldn't look into Gray's eyes. "It's nothing, really. Why don't we go and get something light to eat?"

Gray stared at her. "Are you sure?"

"Yes!" Juvia nodded quickly.

Gray sighed. "Fine, fine. I'll let it go this time. So what do you want to eat?"

Juvia kept quiet for a while. "Juvia doesn't know... Bread..? Or something?"

Gray looked around when he spotted a stall. "Wanna try that one?"

"Okay," Juvia nodded, didn't even bother to look.

"Right. Wait here, I'll be right back," and he left to buy their lunch.

Juvia let out a heave, putting down the bouquet on her lap. She could feel her heart drumming against her chest, as if it wanted to escape from her rib cage. She had never felt this way before. And what was with all those wild imaginations? Juvia, you're going crazy! She shook her head a few times in attempt to wake herself up.

"Sorry for the wait," Gray came back holding two wrappings of bread. "Shall we go somewhere to eat or you're okay eating here?"

"Juvia wouldn't mind any."

Gray considered the two options for a while before deciding. "Let's go to the next destination then. I think it's easier."

"M'kay," Juvia nodded obediently.

* * *

Gray had brought Juvia to a vivid waterfall. No, it was actually quite more of a river falling against a few small cliffs rather than a waterfall. But the crystal-clear lakes and snowy white mountain peaks surrounded in serene greenery, she could see all the natural elements around her. Gray led her to climb over to a more leveled area.

"A waterfall?" Juvia asked.

"I wanted to bring you to somewhere that you like. I was thinking of bringing you to a pool but it would be too crowded," Gray sat on a huge rock. "And the water here is really clean, you can even swim in it."

Juvia blinked.

"You like water don't you?"

Juvia felt herself blushing again. "Gray-sama remembered?"

"Of course I do. You looked so happy talking about it," Gray scratched the back of his head.

Juvia couldn't help the huge smile forming on her face. "Juvia is so happy!" and she launched herself towards Gray, making Gray stumbled back a bit.

Gray almost moaned at how her soft body pressed against his. And the thin material of her summer dress definitely didn't help. He placed his hands gently on her shoulder, trying to put some space between them. "Uh... You're welcome."

She pulled back. "Can Juvia go in?"

"Sure, why not?"

Juvia jumped abruptly, almost too happily as she skipped towards the flowing water. As the water splashes gently against her, she giggled happily, bending a bit to reach the clear water with her hand—another hand holding her hat from being blown away. She had always loved the sound of water. The water had been her only friend that would wipe her tears away when she was a child.

"Are you okay?" Gray noticed the melancholic change in her expression.

She slowly shook her head. "Juvia just remembered something sad."

It was supposed to be a friendly date—or a teammate outing or whatever it was supposed to be. But Gray didn't care about all those unimportant details anymore. She was there with him, and for that moment, they were alone—together.

And he stepped closer, promptly taking off her hat as he put it down on the rock. His strong arms pulling her into a steady embrace. It was at that moment that he was struck at how frail she felt against his body. She had always appeared so strong, so cheerful as if she had led the most wonderful life. He tucked her head under his chin when he felt her sniffed a bit.

"I'm sorry," he whispered.

Juvia shook her head, her arms circling his waist as she rested her head on his sturdy chest. He felt so comfortable, and she didn't intend to let go anytime soon. "After every rain there will be rainbows."

"Hm?"

"Gray-sama is Juvia's rainbows."

Her voice was low, but they were hugging so close, Gray could hear it anyway. Instinctively he tightened the hug, unconsciously planting a kiss on her head. _You are my very own rainbows too_.

* * *

**A/N:** I take back my statement—their date actually take two chapters. I seriously believed it would be one chapter. Btw, I kept wondering how the story will turn out if I made Juvia a scrub nurse instead. LOL. Maybe I should try to do a NaLu version. I didn't had the chance to close them up here due to the amount of plot I had to write to build the Gruvia, I think I wasted their potentials. Huuu...

And thank you again to all who had given me courage to continue on. I'm so happy I could finally reach the intermission of the story. I hope you will enjoy the rest of the ride as much as the first half later; **SeptemberGurl, BlackFish29, NeverInUrWildestDreams, Kotaru, gruvia-naruhina, elle003, Mango, Gruvialover, imahappyperson** and **Medaka-chan.**


End file.
